South Ossetia declared independence from the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991. The Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetia's autonomy and trying to re-establish its control over the region by force,[7] the crisis escalation led to the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.[8] Georgian fighting against those controlling South Ossetia occurred on two other occasions, in 2004 and 2008,[9] the latter conflict led to the Russo–Georgian War, during which Ossetian and Russian forces gained full de facto control of the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast.

Historical Russian map of the Caucasus region at the beginning of the 19th century

Fragment of the historical map by J. H. Colton. The map depicts the Caucasus region in 1856. Modern South Ossetia is located in Georgia and Imeria. Modern North Ossetia approximately corresponds to "Ossia".

The Ossetians are believed to originate from the Alans, a SarmatianIranian tribe.[21] In the 17th century, Ossetians started migration from the North Caucasus to Georgia.[22] Ossetian peasants, who were migrating to the mountainous areas of the South Caucasus, often settled in the lands of Georgian feudal lords,[23] the Georgian King of the Kingdom of Kartli permitted Ossetians to immigrate.[24] According to Russian ambassador to Georgia Mikhail Tatishchev, at the beginning of the 17th century there was already a small group of Ossetians living near the headwaters of the Greater Liakhvi River;[24][25] in the 1770s there were more Ossetians living in Kartli than ever before. This period has been documented in the travel diaries of Johann Anton Güldenstädt who visited Georgia in 1772, the Baltic German explorer called modern North Ossetia simply Ossetia, while he wrote that Kartli (the areas of modern-day South Ossetia) was populated by Georgians and the mountainous areas were populated by both Georgians and Ossetians.[26] Güldenstädt also wrote that the northernmost border of Kartli is the Major Caucasus Ridge.[27][28][29] By the end of 18th century, the ultimate sites of Ossetian settlement on the territory of modern South Ossetia were in Kudaro (Jejora river estuary), Greater Liakhvi gorge, the gorge of Little Liakhvi, Ksani River gorge, Guda (Tetri Aragvi estuary) and Truso (Terek estuary).[30]

Following the Russian revolution,[31] the area of modern South Ossetia became part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia;[32] in 1918, conflict began between the landless Ossetian peasants living in Shida Kartli (Interior Georgia), who were influenced by Bolshevism and demanded ownership of the lands they worked, and the Menshevik government backed ethnic Georgian aristocrats, who were legal owners. Although the Ossetians were initially discontented with the economic policies of the central government, the tension soon transformed into ethnic conflict,[32] the first Ossetian rebellion began in February 1918, when three Georgian princes were killed and their land was seized by the Ossetians. The central government of Tiflis retaliated by sending the National Guard to the area. However, the Georgian unit retreated after they had engaged the Ossetians.[33] Ossetian rebels then proceeded to occupy the town of Tskhinvali and began attacking ethnic Georgian civilian population, during uprisings in 1919 and 1920, the Ossetians were covertly supported by Soviet Russia, but even so, were defeated.[32] Between 3,000 and 7,000 Ossetians were killed during the crushing of the 1920 uprising,[32] according to Ossetian sources ensuing hunger and epidemics were the causes of death of more than 13,000 people.[7]

The Soviet Georgian government, established after the Red Army invasion of Georgia in 1921, created an autonomous administrative unit for Transcaucasian Ossetians in April 1922 under pressure from Kavburo (the Caucasian Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party), called the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (AO).[34] Some[who?] believe that the Bolsheviks granted this autonomy to the Ossetians in exchange for their help in fighting the Democratic Republic of Georgia and favoring local separatists, since this area had never been a principality before.[35] The drawing of administrative boundaries of the South Ossetian AO was quite a complicated process. Many Georgian villages were included within the South Ossetian AO despite numerous protests by the Georgian population. While the city of Tskhinvali did not have a majority Ossetian population, it was made the capital of the South Ossetian AO;[34][36] in addition to parts of Gori Uyezd and Dusheti Uyezd of Tiflis Governorate, parts of Racha Uyezd of Kutaisi Governorate (western Georgia) were also included within the South Ossetian AO. According to Georgian historians all these territories historically had been indigenous Georgian lands.[37]

Although the Ossetians had their own language (Ossetian), Russian and Georgian were administrative/state languages.[38] Under the rule of Georgia's government during Soviet times, it enjoyed minority cultural autonomy, including speaking the Ossetian language and teaching it in schools;[38] in 1989, two-thirds of Ossetians in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic lived outside the South Ossetian AO.[39]

Tensions in the region began to rise amid rising nationalism among both Georgians and Ossetians in 1989, before this, the two communities of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast of the Georgian SSR had been living in peace with each other except for the 1918–1920 events. Both ethnicities have had a high level of interaction and high rates of intermarriage.[citation needed] Dispute surrounding the presence of the Ossetian people in the South Caucasus has been one of the causes of conflict, although Georgian historiography believes that Ossetian mass migration to the South Caucasus (Georgia) began in the 17th century, Ossetians claim to have been residing in the area since ancient times and that present-day South Ossetia is their historical homeland.[7] No evidence exists to back up the Ossetian claims of being indigenous to South Ossetia,[40] some Ossetian historians accept that the migration of Ossetian ancestors to modern South Ossetia began after the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, while one South Ossetian de facto foreign minister in the 1990s admitted that the Ossetians first appeared in the area only in the early 17th century.[41] Since it was created after the Russian invasion of 1921, South Ossetia was regarded as artificial creation by Georgians during the Soviet era.[7]

The South Ossetian Popular Front (Ademon Nykhas) was created in 1988, on 10 November 1989, the South Ossetian regional council asked the Georgian Supreme Council to upgrade the region to the status of an "autonomous republic".[7] The decision to transform the South Ossetian AO into the South Ossetian ASSR by the South Ossetian authorities escalated the conflict, on 11 November, this decision was revoked by the Georgian parliament.[42] The Georgian authorities removed the First Party Secretary of the oblast from his position.[43][44]

The Georgian Supreme Council adopted a law barring regional parties in summer 1990, since this was interpreted by South Ossetians as a move against Ademon Nykhas, they declared full sovereignty as part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on 20 September 1990. Ossetians boycotted subsequent Georgian parliamentary elections and held their own contest in December.[7]

In October 1990, the parliamentary elections in Georgia was won by Zviad Gamsakhurdia's "Round Table" block,[7] on 11 December 1990, Zviad Gamsakhurdia's government declared the Ossetian election illegitimate and abolished South Ossetia's autonomous status altogether.[7] Gamsakhurdia rationalized the abolition of Ossetian autonomy by saying, "They [Ossetians] have no right to a state here in Georgia, they are a national minority. Their homeland is North Ossetia.... Here they are newcomers."[41]

When the Georgian parliament declared a state of emergency in the territory of South Ossetian AO on 12 December 1990, troops from both Georgian and Russian interior ministries were sent to the region, after the Georgian National Guard was formed in early 1991, Georgian troops entered Tskhinvali on 5 January 1991.[45] The 1991–92 South Ossetia War was characterised by general disregard for international humanitarian law by uncontrollable militias, with both sides reporting atrocities,[45] although initially the Soviet military reportedly facilitated a ceasefire as ordered by Mikhail Gorbachev in January 1991, later they were participating in the conflict on the Ossetian side.[citation needed] In March and April 1991, Soviet interior troops were reported actively disarming militias on both sides, and deterring the inter-ethnic violence. Zviad Gamsakhurdia asserted that the Soviet leadership was encouraging South Ossetian separatism in order to force Georgia not to leave the Soviet Union, despite the use of such tactics by Gorbachev, Georgia still declared its independence in April 1991.[41]

As a result of the war, about 100,000 ethnic Ossetians fled the territory and Georgia proper, most across the border into North Ossetia. A further 23,000 ethnic Georgians fled South Ossetia to other parts of Georgia.[46] Many South Ossetians were resettled in uninhabited areas of North Ossetia from which the Ingush had been expelled by Stalin in 1944, leading to conflicts between Ossetians and Ingush over the right of residence in former Ingush territory.[citation needed]

On 29 April 1991, the western part of South Ossetia was affected by an earthquake, which killed 200 and left 300 families homeless.[citation needed]

In late 1991, dissent was mounting against Gamsakhurdia in Georgia due to his intolerance of critics and attempts to concentrate political power, on 22 December 1991, after a coup d'état, Gamsakhurdia and his supporters were besieged by the opposition, which was backed by the national guard, in several government buildings in Tbilisi. The ensuing heavy fighting resulted in over 200 casualties, and left the center of the Georgian capital in ruins, on 6 January, Gamsakhurdia and several of his supporters fled the city for exile. Afterwards, the Georgian military council, an interim government, was formed by a triumvirate of Jaba Ioseliani, Tengiz Kitovani and Tengiz Sigua, and, in March 1992, they invited Eduard Shevardnadze, a former Soviet minister, to come to Georgia to assume control of the Georgian State Council.[41][verification needed]

Following the 2003 Rose Revolution, Mikheil Saakashvili became the President of Georgia in 2004. Ahead of the 2004 parliamentary and presidential elections, he promised to restore the territorial integrity of Georgia,[48] during one of his early speeches, Saakashvili addressed the separatist regions, saying, "[N]either Georgia nor its president will put up with disintegration of Georgia. Therefore, we offer immediate negotiations to our Abkhazian and Ossetian friends. We are ready to discuss every model of statehood by taking into consideration their interests for the promotion of their future development."[49]

Since 2004, tensions began to rise as the Georgian authorities strengthened their efforts to bring the region back under their rule. Georgia sent police to close down a black market, which was one of the region's chief sources of revenue, selling foodstuffs and fuel smuggled from Russia, this was followed by fighting by Georgian troops and peacekeepers against South Ossetian militiamen and freelance fighters from Russia.[50] Hostage takings, shootouts and occasional bombings left dozens dead and wounded. A ceasefire deal was reached on 13 August though it was repeatedly violated.[citation needed]

The Georgian government protested against the allegedly increasing Russian economic and political presence in the region and against the uncontrolled military of the South Ossetian side.[citation needed] It also considered the peacekeeping force (consisting in equal parts of South Ossetians, North Ossetians, Russians and Georgians) to be non-neutral and demanded its replacement.[51][52][not in citation given]Joseph Biden (Chairman, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee), Richard Lugar, and Mel Martinez sponsored a resolution accusing Russia of attempting to undermine Georgia's territorial integrity and called for replacing the Russian-manned peacekeeping force operating under CIS mandate.[53] According to U.S. senator Richard Lugar, the United States supported Georgia's call for the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from the conflict zones.[54] Later, EU South Caucasus envoy Peter Semneby said that "Russia's actions in the Georgia spy row have damaged its credibility as a neutral peacekeeper in the EU's Black Sea neighbourhood."[55]

Tensions between Georgia and Russia began escalating in April 2008.[56][57][58] A bomb explosion on 1 August 2008 targeted a car transporting Georgian peacekeepers. South Ossetians were responsible for instigating this incident, which marked the opening of hostilities and injured five Georgian servicemen; in response,[59] several South Ossetian militiamen were hit.[60] South Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages on 1 August, these artillery attacks caused Georgian servicemen to return fire periodically since 1 August.[56][60][61][62][63]

At around 19:00 on 7 August 2008, Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili announced a unilateral ceasefire and called for peace talks.[64] However, escalating assaults against Georgian villages (located in the South Ossetian conflict zone) were soon matched with gunfire from Georgian troops,[65][66] who then proceeded to move in the direction of the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) on the night of 8 August, reaching its centre in the morning of 8 August.[67] One Georgian diplomat told Russian newspaper Kommersant on 8 August that by taking control of Tskhinvali, Tbilisi wanted to demonstrate that Georgia wouldn't tolerate killing of Georgian citizens.[68] According to Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer, the Ossetian provocation was aimed at triggering the Georgian response, which was needed as a pretext for premeditated Russian military invasion.[69] According to Georgian intelligence,[70] and several Russian media reports, parts of the regular (non-peacekeeping) Russian Army had already moved to South Ossetian territory through the Roki Tunnel before the Georgian military action.[71]

A campaign of ethnic cleansing against Georgians in South Ossetia was conducted by South Ossetians,[78] with Georgian villages around Tskhinvali being destroyed after the war had ended.[79] The war displaced 192,000 people,[80] and while many were able to return to their homes after the war, a year later around 30,000 ethnic Georgians remained displaced;[81] in an interview published in Kommersant, South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity said he would not allow Georgians to return.[82][83]

South Ossetia is in the very heart of the Caucasus at the juncture of Asia and Europe, and it occupies the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the foothills' part of the Kartalin Valley.[92] South Ossetia is a very mountainous region, the Likhi Range is roughly in the center of South Ossetia,[93] and the plateau that's also roughly in the center of South Ossetia is called Iberia.

The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range forms the northern border of South Ossetia with Russia, and the main roads through the mountain range into Russian territory lead through the Roki Tunnel between South and North Ossetia and the Darial Gorge. The Roki Tunnel was vital for the Russian military in the 2008 South Ossetia war because it is the only direct route through the Caucasus Mountains.

South Ossetia covers an area of about 3,900 km2 (1,506 sq mi),[94] separated by the mountains from the more populous North Ossetia (which is part of Russia) and extending southwards almost to the Mtkvari river in Georgia. More than 89% of South Ossetia lies over 1,000 m (3,281 ft) above sea level, and its highest point is Mount Khalatsa at 3,938 m (12,920 ft) above sea level.[95]

Nearby Mount Kazbek is 5,047 m (16,558 ft), and it is of volcanic origin. The region between Kazbek and Shkhara (a distance of about 200 km (124 mi) along the Main Caucasus Range) is dominated by numerous glaciers. Out of the 2,100 glaciers that exist in the Caucasus today, approximately 30% are located within Georgia which South Ossetia forms a part of.

The term Lesser Caucasus Mountains is often used to describe the mountainous (highland) areas of southern Georgia that are connected to the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range by the Likhi Range, the overall region can be characterized as being made up of various, interconnected mountain ranges (largely of volcanic origin) and plateaus that do not exceed 3,400 meters (11,155 ft) in elevation.

Most of South Ossetia is in the Kura Basin with the rest of it in the Black Sea basin, the Likhi and Racha ridges act as divide separating these two basins. Major rivers in South Ossetia include the Greater and Little Liakhvi, Ksani, Medzhuda, Tlidon, Canal Saltanis, Ptsa River and host of other tributaries.[95]

South Ossetia's climate is affected by subtropical influences from the East and Mediterranean influences from the West, the Greater Caucasus range moderates the local climate by serving as a barrier against cold air from the North, which results in the fact that, even at great heights, it is warmer there than in the Northern Caucasus.[92][95] Climatic zones in South Ossetia are determined by distance from the Black Sea and by altitude, the plains of eastern Georgia are shielded from the influence of the Black Sea by mountains that provide a more continental climate.

The foothills and mountainous areas (including the Greater Caucasus Mountains) experience cool, wet summers and snowy winters, with snow cover often exceeding 2 meters in many regions, the penetration of humid air masses from the Black Sea to the West of South Ossetia is often blocked by the Likhi mountain range. The wettest periods of the year in South Ossetia generally occur during spring and autumn while the winter and summer months tend to be the driest. Elevation plays an important role in South Ossetia where climatic conditions above 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) are considerably colder than in any lower-lying areas. The regions that lie above 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) frequently experience frost even during the summer months.

The average temperature in South Ossetia in January is around +4 degrees Celsius, and the average temperature in July is around +20.3 degrees Celsius. The average yearly liquid precipitation in South Ossetia is around 598 millimeters;[92] in general, Summer temperatures average 20 °C (68 °F) to 24 °C (75.2 °F) across much of South Ossetia, and winter temperatures average 2 °C (35.6 °F) to 4 °C (39.2 °F). Humidity is relatively low and rainfall across South Ossetia averages 500 to 800 mm (19.7 to 31.5 in) per year. Alpine and highland regions have distinct microclimates though. At higher elevations, precipitation is sometimes twice as heavy as in the eastern plains of Georgia. Alpine conditions begin at about 2,100 m (6,890 ft), and above 3,600 m (11,811 ft) snow and ice are present year-round.

South Ossetia's economy is primarily agricultural, although less than 10% of South Ossetia's land area is cultivated. Cereals, fruit and vines are the major produce. Forestry and cattle industries are also maintained. A number of industrial facilities also exist, particularly around the capital, Tskhinvali.

Following the 2008 South Ossetia war, Russia recognized South Ossetia as independent,[96] this unilateral recognition by Russia was met by condemnation from Western Blocs, such as NATO, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the European Council due to the violation of Georgia's territorial integrity.[97][98][99][100] The EU's diplomatic response to the news was delayed by disagreements between Eastern European states, the UK wanting a harsher response and Germany, France and other states' desire not to isolate Russia.[101] Former US envoy Richard Holbrooke said the conflict could encourage separatist movements in other former Soviet states along Russia's western border.[102] Several days later, Nicaragua became the second country to recognize South Ossetia.[96]Venezuela recognized South Ossetia on September 10, 2009, becoming the third UN member state to do so.[103]

The European Union, Council of Europe, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and most UN member countries do not recognize South Ossetia as an independent state. The de facto republic governed by the secessionist government held a second independence referendum[104] on 12 November 2006, after its first referendum in 1992 was not recognized by most governments as valid.[105] According to the Tskhinvali election authorities, the referendum turned out a majority for independence from Georgia where 99% of South Ossetian voters supported independence and the turnout for the vote was 95%,[106] the referendum was monitored by a team of 34 international observers from Germany, Austria, Poland, Sweden and other countries at 78 polling stations.[107] However, it was not recognized internationally by the UN, European Union, OSCE, NATO and the Russian Federation, given the lack of ethnic Georgian participation and the illegality of such a referendum without recognition from the Georgian government in Tbilisi,[108] the European Union, OSCE and NATO condemned the referendum.

Parallel to the secessionist held referendum and elections, to Eduard Kokoity, the then President of South Ossetia, the Ossetian opposition movement (People of South Ossetia for Peace) organized their own elections contemporaneously in Georgian-controlled areas within South Ossetia, in which Georgian and some Ossetian inhabitants of the region voted in favour of Dmitry Sanakoyev as the alternative President of South Ossetia.[109] The alternative elections of Sanakoyev claimed full support of the ethnic Georgian population.[citation needed]

On July 13, 2007, Georgia set up a state commission, chaired by the Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli, to develop South Ossetia's autonomous status within the Georgian state. According to the Georgian officials, the status was to be elaborated within the framework of "an all-inclusive dialogue" with all the forces and communities within the Ossetian society.[115]

On August 30, 2008, Tarzan Kokoity, the Deputy Speaker of South Ossetia's parliament, announced that the region would soon be absorbed into Russia, so that South and North Ossetians could live together in one united Russian state.[116] Russian and South Ossetian forces began giving residents in Akhalgori, the biggest town in the predominantly ethnic Georgian eastern part of South Ossetia, the choice of accepting Russian citizenship or leaving.[117] However, Eduard Kokoity, the then president of South Ossetia, later stated that South Ossetia would not forgo its independence by joining Russia: "We are not going to say no to our independence, which has been achieved at the expense of many lives; South Ossetia has no plans to join Russia." Civil Georgia has said that this statement contradicts previous ones made by Kokoity earlier that day, when he indicated that South Ossetia would join North Ossetia in the Russian Federation.[116][118]

The South Ossetian and Russian presidents signed an "alliance and integration" treaty on 18 March 2015,[119] the agreement includes provisions to incorporate the South Ossetian military into Russia's armed forces, integrate the customs service of South Ossetia into that of Russia's, and commit Russia to paying state worker salaries in South Ossetia at rates equal to those in the North Caucasus Federal District.[120] The Associated Press described the treaty as calling for "nearly full integration" and compared it to a 2014 agreement between Russia and Abkhazia,[119] the Georgian Foreign Ministry described the signing of the treaty as "actual annexation" of the disputed region by Russia, and the United States and European Union said they would not recognize it.[121][122]

In another move towards integration with the Russian Federation, South Ossetian President Leonid Tibilov proposed on December 29, 2015 a name change "emphasizing South Ossetia as part of Russia". According to Tibilov South Ossetia should to be named "South Ossetia-Alania" in analogy with "North Ossetia-Alania", a Russian federal subject. Tibilov furthermore expressed hopes that in the future this and a referendum on joining the Russian Federation to be held before April 2017 will lead to a united "Ossetia-Alania",[123] on April 11, 2016, Tibilov said he plans to hold the referendum before August of that year.[124][125] However, on May 30 Tibilov subsequently postponed the referendum until after the presidential election due in April 2017, where it will be a central issue.[126] Preliminary results show that more than 80% of those who voted in the referendum approved changing the unrecognised country's name to South Ossetia-Alania.[127]

In late October 2008 President Saakashvili signed into law legislation on the occupied territories passed by the Georgian Parliament, the law covers the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (territories of former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast).[128][129][130] The law spells out restrictions on free movement and economic activity in the territories; in particular, according to the law, foreign citizens should enter the two breakaway regions only through Georgia proper. Entry into Abkhazia should be carried out from the Zugdidi District and into South Ossetia from the Gori District, the major road leading to South Ossetia from the rest of Georgia passes through the Gori District.[citation needed]

The legislation, however, also lists "special" cases in which entry into the breakaway regions will not be regarded as illegal, it stipulates that a special permit on entry into the breakaway regions can be issued if the trip there "serves Georgia’s state interests; peaceful resolution of the conflict; de-occupation or humanitarian purposes." The law also bans any type of economic activity – entrepreneurial or non- entrepreneurial, if such activities require permits, licenses or registration in accordance with Georgian legislation. It also bans air, sea and railway communications and international transit via the regions, mineral exploration and money transfers, the provision covering economic activities is retroactive, going back to 1990.[citation needed]

The law says that the Russian Federation – the state which has carried out military occupation – is fully responsible for the violation of human rights in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Russian Federation, according to the document, is also responsible for compensation of material and moral damage inflicted on Georgian citizens, stateless persons and foreign citizens, who are in Georgia and enter the occupied territories with appropriate permits. The law also says that de facto state agencies and officials operating in the occupied territories are regarded by Georgia as illegal, the law will remain in force until "the full restoration of Georgian jurisdiction" over the breakaway regions is realised.[citation needed]

In November 2009, during the opening ceremony of a new Georgian Embassy building in Kiev, Ukraine, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili stated that residents of South Ossetia and Abkhazia could also use its facilities: "I would like to assure you, my dear friends, that this is your home, as well, and here you will always be able to find support and understanding".[131]

Until the armed conflict of August 2008, South Ossetia consisted of a checkerboard of Georgian-inhabited and Ossetian-inhabited towns and villages,[132] the largely Ossetian capital city of Tskhinvali and most of the other Ossetian-inhabited communities were governed by the separatist government, while the Georgian-inhabited villages and towns were administered by the Georgian government. This close proximity and the intermixing of the two communities has made the Georgian–Ossetian conflict particularly dangerous, since any attempt to create an ethnically pure territory would involve population transfers on a large scale.

The political dispute has yet to be resolved and the South Ossetian separatist authorities govern the region with effective independence from Tbilisi, although talks have been held periodically between the two sides, little progress was made under the government of Eduard Shevardnadze (1993–2003). His successor Mikheil Saakashvili (elected 2004) made the reassertion of Georgian governmental authority a political priority. Having successfully put an end to the de facto independence of the southwestern province of Ajaria in May 2004, he pledged to seek a similar solution in South Ossetia, after the 2004 clashes, the Georgian government has intensified its efforts to bring the problem to international attention. On 25 January 2005, President Saakashvili presented a Georgian vision for resolving the South Ossetian conflict at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe session in Strasbourg. Late in October, the US government and the OSCE expressed their support to the Georgian action plan presented by Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli at the OSCE Permanent Council at Vienna on 27 October 2005, on 6 December, the OSCE Ministerial Council in Ljubljana adopted a resolution supporting the Georgian peace plan[133] which was subsequently rejected by the South Ossetian de facto authorities.

On September 11, 2006, the South Ossetian Information and Press Committee announced that the republic would hold an independence referendum[104] (the first referendum had not been recognized by the international community as valid in 1992)[134] on 12 November 2006. The voters would decide on whether or not South Ossetia "should preserve its present de facto status of an independent state". Georgia denounced the move as a "political absurdity". However, on 13 September 2006, the Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Terry Davis commented on the problem, stating that it would be unlikely that anyone would accept the results of this referendum and instead urged the South Ossetian government to engage in negotiations with Georgia.[135] On 13 September 2006 European Union Special Representative to the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, while visiting Moscow, said: "results of the South Ossetian independence referendum will have no meaning for the European Union".[136] Peter Semneby also added that this referendum would not contribute to the peaceful conflict resolution process in South Ossetia.

Ethnic Ossetians and Russians living in South Ossetia nearly unanimously approved a referendum on 12 November 2006 opting for independence from Georgia, the referendum was hugely popular, winning between 98 and 99 percent of the vote; flag waving and celebrations were seen across South Ossetia, but elsewhere observers were less enthusiastic. Ethnic Georgians living in South Ossetia boycotted the referendum. International critics claimed that the move could worsen regional tensions, and the Tbilisi government thoroughly discounted the results. "Everybody needs to understand, once and for all, that no amount of referenda or elections will move Georgia to give up that which belongs to the Georgian people by God's will," declared Georgi Tsagareishvili, leader of the Industrialists bloc in Georgia's parliament.[137]

The group headed by the former defence minister and then prime minister of the secessionist government Dmitry Sanakoyev organized the so-called alternative presidential election, on 12 November 2006—parallel to those held by the secessionist authorities in Tskhinvali.[109] High voter turnout was reported by the alternative electoral commission, which estimated over 42,000 voters from both Ossetian (Java district and Tskhinvali) and Georgian (Eredvi, Tamarasheni, etc.) communities of South Ossetia and Sanakoyev reportedly received 96% of the votes. Another referendum was organized shortly after asking for the start of negotiations with Georgia on a federal arrangement for South Ossetia received 94% support.

Initially, Sanakoyev's administration was known as "the Alternative Government of South Ossetia", but during the course of 2007 the central authorities of Georgia decided to give it official status and on 13 April the formation of the "Provisional Administration of South Ossetia" was announced,[138] on 10 May 2007 Dmitry Sanakoyev was appointed head of the provisional administrative entity in South Ossetia.[139]

The republic held its fourth presidential election in November 2011. Eduard Kokoity was not eligible to run for president for a third time, per the constitution. Anatoly Bibilov, supported by Russian authorities and Alla Dzhioeva, backed by main South Ossetian opposition figures, got about a quarter of the vote each and participated in the run-off vote.[142][143] A run-off was won by Dzhioyeva on November 27, 2011, but the results were invalidated by the Supreme Court of South Ossetia.[144]Leonid Tibilov won the 2012 election over David Sanakoyev after a run-off.[145]

Before the Georgian-Ossetian conflict roughly two-thirds of the population of South Ossetia was Ossetian and 25–30% was Georgian, the eastern quarter of the country, around the town and district of Akhalgori, was predominantly Georgian, while the center and west were predominantly Ossete. Much of the mountainous north is sparsely inhabited. (See map at Languages of the Caucasus.)

Because the statistical office of Georgia was not able to conduct the 2002 Georgian census in South Ossetia, the present composition of the population of South Ossetia is unknown,[146] although according to some estimates there were 47,000 ethnic Ossetians and 17,500 ethnic Georgians in South Ossetia in 2007.[147]

2009 Population Estimate: During the war, according to Georgian officials, 15,000 Georgians moved to Georgia proper; South Ossetian officials indicate that 30,000 Ossetians fled to North Ossetia, and a total of 500 citizens of South Ossetia were killed.[148][149] This left the estimated population at 54,500, however Russia's reconstruction plan involving 600 million dollars in aid to South Ossetia may have spurred immigration into the de facto independent republic, especially with Russia's movement of 3,700 soldiers into South Ossetia, in order to prevent further incursions.[150] RIA Novosti places the population of South Ossetia at 80,000, although this figure is probably too optimistic.[150]

Following the war in the 1990s, South Ossetia struggled economically. South Ossetian GDP was estimated at US$15 million (US$250 per capita) in a work published in 2002.[153] Employment and supplies are scarce. Additionally, Georgia cut off supplies of electricity to the region, which forced the South Ossetian government to run an electric cable through North Ossetia, the majority of the population survives on subsistence farming. Virtually the only significant economic asset that South Ossetia possesses is control of the Roki Tunnel that is used to link Russia and Georgia, from which the South Ossetian government reportedly obtains as much as a third of its budget by levying customs duties on freight traffic.

President Eduard Kokoity has admitted that his country is seriously dependent on Russian economic assistance.[154]

South Ossetia's poverty threshold stood at 3,062 rubles a month in the fourth quarter of 2007, or 23.5 percent below Russia’s average, while South Ossetians have incomparably smaller incomes.[155]

Before the 2008 South Ossetia war, South Ossetia's industry consisted of 22 small factories, with a total production of 61.6 million rubles in 2006. In 2007, only 7 factories were functioning; in March, 2009, it was reported that most of the production facilities were standing idle and were in need of repairs. Even successful factories have a shortage of workers, are in debt and have a shortage of working capital.[155] One of the largest local enterprises is the Emalprovod factory, which has 130 employees.[155]

The South Ossetian authorities are planning to improve finances by boosting the local production of flour and thus reducing the need for flour imports, for this purpose, the area planted with wheat was increased tenfold in 2008 from 130 hectares to 1,500 hectares. The wheat harvest in 2008 was expected to be 2,500 tons of grain, the South Ossetian Agriculture ministry also imported some tractors in 2008, and was expecting delivery of more farm machinery in 2009.[155]

Russia planned to spend 10 billion rubles in the restoration of South Ossetia in 2008.[155]

The economy is currently very dependent on funding from Russia.[15][156]

The first round of voting was accompanied by a referendum in which the Ossetians were to decide whether Russian should become the second official language of South Ossetia. Nearly 85 per cent of the voters supported the referendum.

^G. Tsuladze, N. Maglaperidze, A. Vadachkoria, Eds.,Demographic Yearbook of Georgia: 2001, Georgian Academy of Sciences: Institute of Demographic and Sociological Research (Tbilisi, 2002). This source reports that in January 2002 there were 37,000 Ossetians living in Georgia but excluding South Ossetia.

1.
Russian language
–
Russian is an East Slavic language and an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and many minor or unrecognised territories. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of the four living members of the East Slavic languages, written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century and beyond. It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages and it is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, the language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the second most widespread language on the Internet after English, Russian distinguishes between consonant phonemes with palatal secondary articulation and those without, the so-called soft and hard sounds. This distinction is found between pairs of almost all consonants and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language, another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Russian is a Slavic language of the Indo-European family and it is a lineal descendant of the language used in Kievan Rus. From the point of view of the language, its closest relatives are Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Rusyn. An East Slavic Old Novgorod dialect, although vanished during the 15th or 16th century, is considered to have played a significant role in the formation of modern Russian. In the 19th century, the language was often called Great Russian to distinguish it from Belarusian, then called White Russian and Ukrainian, however, the East Slavic forms have tended to be used exclusively in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with different meanings. For details, see Russian phonology and History of the Russian language and it is also regarded by the United States Intelligence Community as a hard target language, due to both its difficulty to master for English speakers and its critical role in American world policy. The standard form of Russian is generally regarded as the modern Russian literary language, mikhail Lomonosov first compiled a normalizing grammar book in 1755, in 1783 the Russian Academys first explanatory Russian dictionary appeared. By the mid-20th century, such dialects were forced out with the introduction of the education system that was established by the Soviet government. Despite the formalization of Standard Russian, some nonstandard dialectal features are observed in colloquial speech. Thus, the Russian language is the 6th largest in the world by number of speakers, after English, Mandarin, Hindi/Urdu, Spanish, Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a choice for both Russian as a second language and native speakers in Russia as well as many of the former Soviet republics. Russian is still seen as an important language for children to learn in most of the former Soviet republics, samuel P. Huntington wrote in the Clash of Civilizations, During the heyday of the Soviet Union, Russian was the lingua franca from Prague to Hanoi

2.
Flag of South Ossetia
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The flag used by the Republic of South Ossetia, and North Ossetia–Alania is a tricolour, top to bottom white, red, and yellow. The colours symbolize moral purity, martial courage, and wealth, in blazons, the flag is described as Per fess Argent and Or, a fess Gules. The South Ossetian version was prescribed by the South Ossetian Constitution of 26 November 1990, the flag is also used by the pro-Georgia Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia, formerly based in Kurta, which opposes the separatist government in Tskhinvali. The flags of North Ossetia-Alania and South Ossetia are almost identical, the flag of South Ossetia has identical proportions to the flag of North Ossetia-Alania, but slightly different colours. Under the Soviet Union, North Ossetia had a red flag with a blue trim on the left edge, the hammer and sickle. Shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was replaced with the present flag, coats of arms of Ossetia Flags of non-recognized nations South Ossetia

Flag of South Ossetia
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The flag of South Ossetia

3.
Emblem of South Ossetia
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The coat of arms of Ossetia is a disk gules with a persian leopard passant or with sable spots on a ground or with as background seven mountains argent. The coat of arms of the Terek Oblast was approved on 15 March 1873, in a shield a gold Imperial flag in his right band. The shield ancient Royal crown, around the shield with oak wreath entwined the Alexander band, in 1978 both the arms of the North Ossetian ASSR and the emblem of the RSFSR were modified to include a red star. November 24,1994 was approved and enacted by Parliament Act No.521 on the coat of arms of the Republic, the author of the picture — Murat Jigkaev. The prototype of the emblem was the figure of the banner of Ossetia Vakhushti Bagrationi, a red flag was a picture of Persian leopard on a background of blue mountains. The identification of the figure with the leopard is erroneous. IRBIS never lived in the Caucasus, the Persian leopard can be externally is very similar to the snow leopard

Emblem of South Ossetia
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Emblem of the South Ossetian Republic

4.
Tskhinvali
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Tskhinvali is the capital of South Ossetia, a disputed region in Georgia. It has been recognised as an independent Republic by Russia and three other UN members, South Ossetia is a de facto independent state that controls its claimed territory, in part with the support of Russian troops. Despite this, it is recognised by all other UN members as part of Georgia and it is located on the Great Liakhvi River approximately 100 kilometres northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi. The name of Tskhinvali is derived from the Old Georgian Krtskhinvali, from earlier Krtskhilvani, literally meaning the land of hornbeams, from 1934 to 1961, the city was named Staliniri, after Joseph Stalin. Modern Ossetians call the city Tskhinval, the other Ossetian name of the city is Chreba, the area around the present-day Tskhinvali was first populated back in the Bronze Age. The unearthed settlements and archaeological artifacts from that time are unique in that they reflect influences from both Iberian and Colchian cultures with possible Sarmatian elements, by the early 18th century, Tskhinvali was a small royal town populated chiefly by monastic serfs. Tskhinvali was annexed to the Russian Empire along with the rest of eastern Georgia in 1801, located on a trade route which linked North Caucasus to Tbilisi and Gori, Tskhinvali gradually developed into a commercial town with a mixed Jewish, Georgian, Armenian and Ossetian population. In the 1917 it had 600 houses with 38. 4% Jews,34. 4% Georgians,17. 7% Armenians and 8. 8% Ossetians. The town saw clashes between Georgian Peoples Guard and pro-Bolshevik Ossetian peasants during the 1918-20 period, when Georgia gained brief independence from Russia. Soviet rule was established by the invading Red Army in March 1921, subsequently, the town became largely Ossetian due to intense urbanisation and Soviet Korenizatsiya policy which induced an inflow of the Ossetians from the nearby rural areas into Tskhinvali. According to the last Soviet census, Tskhinvali had a population of 42,934, during the acute phase of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, Tskhinvali was a scene of ethnic tensions and ensuing armed confrontation between Georgian and Ossetian forces. The 1992 Sochi ceasefire accord left Tskhinvali in the hands of Ossetians, in late June,2008 Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer predicted that Vladimir Putin would start a war against Georgia in Abkhazia and South Ossetia supposedly in August. At 8,00 am on 1 August, a Georgian police vehicle was blown up by an explosive device on the road near Tskhinvali. In response, Georgian snipers assaulted some of the South Ossetian border checkpoints, killing four Ossetians, Ossetian separatists began intensively shelling Georgian villages on 1 August, with a sporadic response from Georgian peacekeepers and other troops in the region. During the night of 1/2 August, grenades and mortar fire were exchanged, the number of Ossetian casualties rose to six and the number of injured to fifteen, including several civilians, the Georgian casualties were six injured civilians and one injured policeman. The Russian deputy defence minister, Nikolay Pankov, had a meeting with the separatist authorities in Tskhinvali on 3 August. An evacuation of Ossetian women and children to Russia began on the same day, on 5 August, Georgian authorities organised a tour for journalists and diplomats to demonstrate the damage supposedly caused by separatists. That day, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Yuri Popov declared that his country would intervene on the side of South Ossetia, the destruction of the village of Nuli was ordered by South Ossetian interior minister Mindzaev

Tskhinvali
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The monument to the victims of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict
Tskhinvali
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A vintage photo of Tskhinval' by D. Rudnev, 1886.
Tskhinvali
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A building in the city after the Battle of Tskhinvali. August 18, 2008
Tskhinvali
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21 August 2008. Valery Gergiev with Mariinsky Theatre opera in Tskhinvali.

5.
Politics of South Ossetia
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It has a population of 53,000 people which live in an area of 3,900 km2, south of the Russian Caucasus, with 30,000 living in its capital city of Tskhinvali. South Ossetia declared independence from the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, the Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetias autonomy and trying to re-establish its control over the region by force. The crisis escalation led to the 1991–92 South Ossetia War, Georgian fighting against those controlling South Ossetia occurred on two other occasions, in 2004 and 2008. The latter conflict led to the Russo–Georgian War, during which Ossetian and Russian forces gained full de facto control of the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. In the wake of the 2008 war, Russia, followed by Nicaragua, Venezuela, Georgia and a significant part of the international community consider South Ossetia to be occupied by the Russian military. South Ossetia relies heavily on military, political and financial aid from Russia, Russia does not allow European Union Monitoring Mission monitors to enter South Ossetia. South Ossetia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Abkhazia are sometimes referred to as post-Soviet frozen conflict zones, the Ossetians are believed to originate from the Alans, a Sarmatian Iranian tribe. In the 17th century, Ossetians started migration from the North Caucasus to Georgia, Ossetian peasants, who were migrating to the mountainous areas of the South Caucasus, often settled in the lands of Georgian feudal lords. The Georgian King of the Kingdom of Kartli permitted Ossetians to immigrate, in the 1770s there were more Ossetians living in Kartli than ever before. This period has been documented in the diaries of Johann Anton Güldenstädt who visited Georgia in 1772. The Baltic German explorer called modern North Ossetia simply Ossetia, while he wrote that Kartli was populated by Georgians, Güldenstädt also wrote that the northernmost border of Kartli is the Major Caucasus Ridge. The Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, part of which was the territory of modern South Ossetia, was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1801. Following the Russian revolution, the area of modern South Ossetia became part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, although the Ossetians were initially discontented with the economic policies of the central government, the tension soon transformed into ethnic conflict. The first Ossetian rebellion began in February 1918, when three Georgian princes were killed and their land was seized by the Ossetians, the central government of Tiflis retaliated by sending the National Guard to the area. However, the Georgian unit retreated after they had engaged the Ossetians, Ossetian rebels then proceeded to occupy the town of Tskhinvali and began attacking ethnic Georgian civilian population. During uprisings in 1919 and 1920, the Ossetians were covertly supported by Soviet Russia, but even so, were defeated. Between 3,000 and 7,000 Ossetians were killed during the crushing of the 1920 uprising, according to Ossetian sources ensuing hunger, the drawing of administrative boundaries of the South Ossetian AO was quite a complicated process. Many Georgian villages were included within the South Ossetian AO despite numerous protests by the Georgian population, while the city of Tskhinvali did not have a majority Ossetian population, it was made the capital of the South Ossetian AO

Politics of South Ossetia
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Historical Russian map of the Caucasus region at the beginning of the 19th century
Politics of South Ossetia
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Flag
Politics of South Ossetia
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Fragment of the historical map by J. H. Colton. The map depicts Caucasus region in 1856. Modern South Ossetia is not labeled. Modern North Ossetia is labeled as "Ossia".
Politics of South Ossetia
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Map of South Ossetia (November 2004).

6.
Republic
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It is a government where the head of state is not a monarch. Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their ideology, composition, in the classical and medieval period of Europe, many states were fashioned on the Roman Republic, which referred to the governance of the city of Rome, between it having kings and emperors. The Italian medieval and Renaissance political tradition, today referred to as humanism, is sometimes considered to derive directly from Roman republicans such as Sallust. Republics were not equated with classical democracies such as Athens, but had a democratic aspect, Republics became more common in the Western world starting in the late 18th century, eventually displacing absolute monarchy as the most common form of government in Europe. In modern republics, the executive is legitimized both by a constitution and by popular suffrage, for instance, Article IV of the United States Constitution guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government. The term originates as the Latin translation of Greek word politeia, cicero, among other Latin writers, translated politeia as res publica and it was in turn translated by Renaissance scholars as republic. The term politeia can be translated as form of government, polity, or regime, and is therefore not always a word for a specific type of regime as the modern word republic is. And also amongst classical Latin, the term republic can be used in a way to refer to any regime. In medieval Northern Italy, a number of city states had commune or signoria based governments, in the late Middle Ages, writers, such as Giovanni Villani, began writing about the nature of these states and the differences from other types of regime. They used terms such as libertas populi, a free people, the terminology changed in the 15th century as the renewed interest in the writings of Ancient Rome caused writers to prefer using classical terminology. To describe non-monarchical states writers, most importantly Leonardo Bruni, adopted the Latin phrase res publica. While Bruni and Machiavelli used the term to describe the states of Northern Italy, which were not monarchies, the term can quite literally be translated as public matter. It was most often used by Roman writers to refer to the state and government, in subsequent centuries, the English word commonwealth came to be used as a translation of res publica, and its use in English was comparable to how the Romans used the term res publica. Notably, during The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell the word commonwealth was the most common term to call the new monarchless state, likewise, in Polish, the term was translated as rzeczpospolita, although the translation is now only used with respect to Poland. Presently, the term republic commonly means a system of government which derives its power from the rather than from another basis. After the classical period, during the Middle Ages, many cities developed again. The modern type of itself is different from any type of state found in the classical world. Nevertheless, there are a number of states of the era that are today still called republics

7.
Parliament of South Ossetia
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The Parliament of South Ossetia is the unicameral legislature of the partially recognized Republic of South Ossetia. Members are elected using a system of Party-list proportional representation, South Ossetia has a multi-party system, and currently 4 political parties are represented in parliament. The parliament is headed by a speaker, who is elected from among the members, the current speaker is Anatoly Bibilov, chairman of United Ossetia. The parliament of South Ossetia meets in the capital Tskhinvali, the parliament building, built in 1937, was heavily damaged in the 2008 South Ossetia war. Until 27 November 1996, the speaker of the parliament was also Head of State, Torez Kulumbegov Znaur Gassiyev Torez Kulumbegov Lyudvig Chibirov Kosta Georgievich Dzugaev Stanislav Kochiev Znaur Gassiyev Stanislav Kochiev Zurab Kokoyev Stanislav Kochiev Anatoly Bibilov

Parliament of South Ossetia
Parliament of South Ossetia
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Parliament of South Ossetia Парламент Южной Осетии
Parliament of South Ossetia
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The building of the Parliament of South Ossetia, heavily damaged in the August 2008 war.

8.
Georgia (country)
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Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi, Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres, and its 2016 population is about 3.72 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy, during the classical era, several independent kingdoms became established in what is now Georgia. The kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia adopted Christianity in the early 4th century, a unified Kingdom of Georgia reached the peak of its political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 12th and early 13th centuries. Thereafter the kingdom declined and eventually disintegrated under hegemony of various powers, including the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire. Russian rule over Georgia was eventually acknowledged in various treaties with Iran. Since the establishment of the modern Georgian republic in April 1991, post-communist Georgia suffered from civil, the countrys Western orientation soon led to the worsening of relations with Russia, culminating in the brief Russo-Georgian War in August 2008. Georgia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and it contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Georgia and a part of the international community consider the regions to be part of Georgias sovereign territory under Russian military occupation. Georgia probably stems from the Persian designation of the Georgians – gurğān, in the 11th and 12th centuries adapted via Syriac gurz-ān/gurz-iyān, starting with the Persian word gurğ/gurğān, the word was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages. This term itself might have established through the ancient Iranian appellation of the near-Caspian region. The self-designation used by ethnic Georgians is Kartvelebi, the medieval Georgian Chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelians, Kartlos, a great-grandson of Japheth. However, scholars agree that the word is derived from the Karts, the name Sakartvelo consists of two parts. Its root, kartvel-i, specifies an inhabitant of the core central-eastern Georgian region of Kartli, ancient Greeks and Romans referred to early western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians. Today the full, official name of the country is Georgia, before the 1995 constitution came into force the countrys name was the Republic of Georgia. The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era, the proto-Georgian tribes first appear in written history in the 12th century BC. The earliest evidence of wine to date has found in Georgia. In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BC, the classical period saw the rise of a number of early Georgian states, the principal of which was Colchis in the west and Iberia in the east

Georgia (country)
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It is said that Georgians were so named because they revered Saint George.
Georgia (country)
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Flag
Georgia (country)
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Ancient Georgian states of Colchis and Iberia, 500-400 BC
Georgia (country)
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Queen Tamar of Georgia presided over the "Golden Age" of the medieval Georgian monarchy. Her position as the first woman to rule Georgia in her own right was emphasized by the title "Mepe mepeta" ("King of Kings").

9.
Georgian Lari
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The lari is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri, the name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term used in ancient Colchis from the 6th century BC. Earlier Georgian currencies include the maneti and abazi, Georgia replaced the Russian ruble on 5 April 1993, with Kuponi at par. This currency consisted only of banknotes, had no subdivisions and suffered from hyperinflation, notes were issued in denominations between 1 and 1 million Kuponi, including the somewhat unusual 3,3000,30,000 and 150,000 Kuponi. On 2 October 1995, the government of Eduard Shevardnadze replaced the provisional coupon currency with the Lari and it has remained fairly stable since then. On 8 July 2014, Giorgi Kadagidze, Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, introduced the proposal for the sign of the national currency to the public. The Georgian lari had its own sign, the NBG announced the Lari sign competition in December 2013. The Lari sign is based on an arched letter ლ of the Georgian script and it is common in international common practice for a currency sign to consist of a letter, crossed by one or two parallel lines. Two parallel lines crossing the letter Lasi are the components of the Lari sign. The so-called “leg” of the letter, represented by a line, is a necessary attribute of the sign. The form of the letter is transformed in order to simplify its perception and implementation as a Lari sign, ten lari notes are produced by Polish Security Printing Works. Economy of Georgia Georgian money, National Bank of Georgia Banknotes of Georgia, Georgian Lari Catalog Coins of Georgia at CISCoins. net

10.
Right- and left-hand traffic
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This is so fundamental to traffic flow that it is sometimes referred to as the rule of the road. About two-thirds of the population use RHT, with the remaining 76 countries and territories using LHT. Countries that use LHT account for about a sixth of the worlds area, in the early 1900s some countries including Canada, Spain, and Brazil had different rules in different parts of the country. During the 1900s many countries standardised within their jurisdictions, and changed from LHT to RHT, in 1919,104 of the worlds territories were LHT and an equal number were RHT. From 1919 to 1986,34 of the LHT territories switched to RHT, many of the countries with LHT are former British colonies in the Caribbean, Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Japan, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Mozambique, Suriname, East Timor, in Europe, only four countries still drive on the left, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus, all of which are islands. Nearly all countries use one side or the other throughout their entire territory, most exceptions are due to historical considerations and involve islands with no road connection to the main part of a country. China is RHT except the Special Administrative Regions of China of Hong Kong, the United States is RHT except the United States Virgin Islands. The United Kingdom is LHT, but its overseas territories of Gibraltar, according to the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, water traffic is RHT. For aircraft the US Federal Aviation Regulations provide for passing on the right, light rail vehicles generally operate on the same side as other road traffic in the country. Many countries use RHT for automobiles but LHT for trains, often because of the influence of the British on early railway systems, in some countries rail traffic remained LHT after automobile traffic switched to RHT, for example in China, Brazil, and Argentina. However, France, Belgium, and Switzerland have used RHT for automobiles since their introduction, there is no technical reason to prefer one side over the other. Ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Roman troops kept to the left when marching, in 1998, archaeologists found a well-preserved double track leading to a Roman quarry near Swindon. The first reference in English law to an order for LHT was in 1756, northcote Parkinson, believed that ancient travellers on horseback or on foot generally kept to the left, since most people were right handed. If two men riding on horseback were to start a fight, each would edge toward the left, in the year 1300, Pope Boniface VIII directed pilgrims to keep left. In the late 1700s, traffic in the United States was RHT based on use of large freight wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. The wagons had no seat, so a postilion sat on the left rear horse. Seated on the left, the driver preferred that other wagons pass him on the left so that he could be sure to keep clear of the wheels of oncoming wagons, in France, traditionally foot traffic had kept right, while carriage traffic kept left

Right- and left-hand traffic
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A sign on Australia 's Great Ocean Road reminding foreign motorists to keep left. Such signs are placed at the exit of parking areas associated with scenic views, where other road traffic may at times be sparse.
Right- and left-hand traffic
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Right-hand traffic
Right- and left-hand traffic
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One of many road signs in the British county of Kent placed on the right-hand side of the road.
Right- and left-hand traffic
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The change of traffic directions at the Laos–Thai border takes place on Lao territory just off the Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge.

11.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians

12.
Nicaragua
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Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the largest country in the Central American isthmus. Nicaraguas capital, Managua, is the countrys largest city and the third-largest city in Central America, the multi-ethnic population of six million includes indigenous peoples, Europeans, Africans, and Asians. Native tribes on the eastern coast speak their own languages, the Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821, since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, and fiscal crisis—the most notable causes that led to the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Nicaragua is a democratic republic. The biological diversity, warm climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination. The name Nicaragua was coined by Spanish colonists based on the name Nicarao, when Spaniard Gil González Dávila came to Nicaragua in 1521 he found in the areas between Rivas and San Jorge the first pre-Columbian natives of Nicaragua. At the time the city was called Quauhcapolca and the cacique leaders name was Macuilmiquiztli. The Pipil migrated to Nicaragua from central Mexico after 500 BC, meanwhile, the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua was inhabited by other peoples, mostly Chibcha language groups. They had coalesced in Central America and migrated also to present-day northern Colombia and they lived a life based primarily on hunting and gathering. In 1502, Christopher Columbus became the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed southeast toward the Isthmus of Panama, on his fourth voyage, Columbus explored the Miskito Coast on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua. The Spanish attempted to convert all three tribes to Christianity, Nicaragua and Nicarao and their people converted, but Dirangen, however, did not, the first attempt to conquer what is now known as Nicaragua was by Gil González Dávila, who arrived in Panama in January 1520. The first Spanish permanent settlements were founded in 1524, conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded two of Nicaraguas principal towns in 1524, Granada on Lake Nicaragua was the first settlement, followed by León at a location west of Lake Managua. Córdoba soon built defenses for the cities and fought against incursions by other conquistadors, Córdoba was later publicly beheaded following a power struggle with Pedro Arias Dávila. His tomb and remains were discovered in 2000 in the ruins of León Viejo, the clashes among Spanish forces did not impede their destruction of the indigenous people and their culture. The series of battles came to be known as the War of the Captains, Pedro Arias Dávila was a winner, although he had lost control of Panama, he moved to Nicaragua and successfully established his base in León. Through adroit diplomatic machinations, he became the first governor of the colony, many indigenous people died as a result of new infectious diseases, compounded by neglect by the Spaniards, who controlled their subsistence. In 1610, the Momotombo volcano erupted, destroying the capital and it was rebuilt northwest of what is now known as the ruins of Old León

13.
Venezuela
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Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a federal republic located on the northern coast of South America. It is bordered by Colombia on the west, Brazil on the south, Guyana on the east, Venezuela covers 916,445 km2 and has an estimated population of 31775371. The territory now known as Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522 amid resistance from indigenous peoples and it gained full independence as a separate country in 1830. During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments. This new constitution changed the name of the country to República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Venezuela is a presidential republic consisting of 23 states, the Capital District. Venezuela also claims all Guyanese territory west of the Essequibo River, oil was discovered in the early 20th century, and Venezuela has the worlds largest known oil reserves and has been one of the worlds leading exporters of oil. Previously an underdeveloped exporter of commodities such as coffee and cocoa, oil quickly came to dominate exports. The recovery of oil prices in the early 2000s gave Venezuela oil funds not seen since the 1980s, the Venezuelan government then established populist policies that initially boosted the Venezuelan economy and increased social spending, significantly reducing economic inequality and poverty. However, such policies later became controversial since they destabilized the economy, resulting in hyperinflation, an economic depression. According to the most popular and accepted version, in 1499, the stilt houses in the area of Lake Maracaibo reminded the navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, of the city of Venice, so he named the region Veneziola Piccola Venezia. The name acquired its current spelling as a result of Spanish influence, where the suffix -uela is used as a term, thus. The German language 16th century-term for the area, Klein-Venedig, also means little Venice, however, Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of the Vespucci and Ojeda crew, gave a different account. In his work Summa de geografía, he states that they found people who called themselves the Veneciuela. Thus, the name Venezuela may have evolved from the native word and it is not known how many people lived in Venezuela before the Spanish conquest, it has been estimated at around one million. In addition to indigenous peoples known today, the population included historic groups such as the Kalina, Auaké, Caquetio, Mariche, the Timoto-Cuica culture was the most complex society in Pre-Columbian Venezuela, with pre-planned permanent villages, surrounded by irrigated, terraced fields. They also stored water in tanks and their houses were made primarily of stone and wood with thatched roofs. They were peaceful, for the most part, and depended on growing crops, regional crops included potatoes and ullucos

14.
Nauru
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Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati,300 kilometres to the east and it further lies northwest of Tuvalu, north of the Solomon Islands, east-northeast of Papua New Guinea, southeast of the Federated States of Micronesia and south of the Marshall Islands. With 10,084 residents in a 21-square-kilometre area, Nauru is the smallest state in the South Pacific and third smallest state by area in the world, behind only Vatican City and Monaco. Settled by native peoples from Micronesia and Polynesia, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century, after World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, after the war ended, the country entered into UN trusteeship. Nauru gained its independence in 1968, Nauru is a phosphate rock island with rich deposits near the surface, which allowed easy strip mining operations. It has some remaining phosphate resources which, as of 2011, are not economically viable for extraction, Nauru boasted the highest per-capita income enjoyed by any sovereign state in the world during the late 1960s and early 1970s. When the phosphate reserves were exhausted, and the environment had been seriously harmed by mining. To earn income, Nauru briefly became a tax haven and illegal money laundering centre, from 2001 to 2008, and again from 2012, it accepted aid from the Australian Government in exchange for hosting the Nauru detention centre. As a result of dependence on Australia, many sources have identified Nauru as a client state of Australia. Nauru was first inhabited by Micronesians and Polynesians at least 3,000 years ago, there were traditionally 12 clans or tribes on Nauru, which are represented in the 12-pointed star on the countrys flag. Traditionally, Nauruans traced their descent matrilineally, inhabitants practised aquaculture, they caught juvenile ibija fish, acclimatised them to fresh water, and raised them in the Buada Lagoon, providing a reliable source of food. The other locally grown components of their diet included coconuts and pandanus fruit, the name Nauru may derive from the Nauruan word Anáoero, which means I go to the beach. The British sea captain John Fearn, a hunter, became the first Westerner to visit Nauru in 1798. From around 1830, Nauruans had contact with Europeans from whaling ships, around this time, deserters from European ships began to live on the island. The islanders traded food for alcoholic palm wine and firearms, the firearms were used during the 10-year Nauruan Tribal War that began in 1878. After an agreement with Great Britain, Nauru was annexed by Germany in 1888, the arrival of the Germans ended the civil war, and kings were established as rulers of the island. The most widely known of these was King Auweyida, christian missionaries from the Gilbert Islands arrived in 1888

15.
Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia
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The Provisional Administration of South Ossetia is an administrative body that Georgia regards as the legal government of South Ossetia. The administration was set up by the Georgian government as a transitional measure leading to the settlement of South Ossetias status, as of 2007, Georgia is proposing the status of autonomous republic within the Georgian state. The area mainly lies within the Shida Kartli region, the Salvation Union of South Ossetia was founded in October 2006 by the ethnic Ossetians who were outspoken critics and presented a serious opposition to secessionist authorities of Eduard Kokoity. Another referendum was organised shortly after asking for the start of negotiations with Georgia on an arrangement for South Ossetia received 94% support. However the Salvation Union of South Ossetia turned down a request from a Georgian NGO, “Multinational Georgia”, to monitor it, “I, the President of the Republic of South Ossetia, declare before God and Nation that I will protect the interests of the South Ossetian people. Soon after Sanakoev formed his government, appointing Uruzmag Karkusov as Prime Minister, Jemal Karkusov as Interior Minister and Maia Chigoeva-Tsaboshvili as Foreign Minister. A year ago no one could imagine that South Ossetian flags could appear here in the Georgian-populated village, ” Vladimir Sanakoev, co-founder of the Salvation Union of South Ossetia, said. There were large number of Ossetian flags also used by the South Ossetian secessionist authorities, flown alongside the Georgian flag in Kurta, South Ossetian flags are usually displayed in Tskhinvali by the Separatist controlled territories of the breakaway region alongside of the Russian national flag. Both the central Georgian government and Sanakoyevs administration considers any negotiations with Kokoitys government meaningless because of its dependence on Moscow, on May 10,2007 Dmitry Sanakoev was appointed head of the provisional administration in South Ossetia. For the first time since the fall of Soviet Union, the former Ossetian secessionist leader gave a speech in the Georgian parliament on May 11,2007. ” and we should not allow it, ” he added. “This is our current challenge, this is our current goal, to create a new Ossetia, strong and delightful, free of violence, on June 15,2007 European Union, European Parliament and OSCE supported Georgian initiative for conflict settlement in South Ossetia. The EU mission had met with both Sanakoev and Kokoity in January,2007, according to the Georgian officials, the status will be elaborated within the framework of an all-inclusive dialogue with all the forces and communities within the Ossetian society. On August 8,2008, the day as the 2008 Olympic Games officially commenced. In the next few days, Russian troops pushed back the Georgian army out of South Ossetia and moved farther, following the end of hostilities, the Federation Council of Russia called an extraordinary session for August 25,2008 to discuss recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. On August 25, the Federation Council unanimously voted to ask the Russian President to recognise independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Russian parliament voted in favour of this motion the following day. South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia Provisional Administration Website

16.
Occupied territories of Georgia
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Occupied territories of Georgia are the territories occupied by Russia after the Russo-Georgian War in 2008. They consist of the regions of Abkhazia and the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast, after the 2008 war, Russian military bases were established in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia does not allow the European Union Monitoring Mission to enter either Abkhazia or South Ossetia, Russia has signed agreements with the de facto civilian administrations of both territories to integrate them militarily and economically into Russia. Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia are widely recognised as parts of the Georgia. The Georgian Law on Occupied Territories of Georgia, adopted in 2008, criminalises and prosecutes entry into Abkhazia, the Georgian law also prohibits any economic and financial activities in the occupied territories. Georgia and a part of the international community regard Abkhazia and South Ossetia as occupied territories and have condemned the Russian military presence. After the Russo-Georgian War, on 26 August 2008, the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed decrees recognising the independence of Abkhazia, the Georgian parliament unanimously passed a resolution on 28 August 2008 formally declaring Abkhazia and South Ossetia Russian-occupied territories, and calling Russian troops occupying forces. Russia established diplomatic relations with both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russian troops were placed in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that a presence in Abkhazia. Russian security forces were deployed along the lines with Georgia. Russians gradually withdrew from Georgia proper after the war, but they remained in Perevi, on 12 December 2008, Russian forces withdrew from Perevi. Eight hours later, a 500-strong Russian contingent re-occupied the village, all Russian troops in Perevi withdrew to South Ossetia on 18 October 2010 and a Georgian Army unit moved in. In 2009, Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili mentioned in several addresses the fact that Russia was staying 40 kilometers away from Georgias capital, Tbilisi, and aimed weapons at it. Mamuka Areshidze, a Caucasus affairs expert, said that the back could have been conditioned with the Georgian authorities willingness to prevent clashes with Russians. In March 2011, the Russians demanded village Aibga, situated on the Psou River in the northwest part of Abkhazia, during the existence of the Soviet Union, the village was divided into two, the southern part belonged to Georgia and the northern part to Russia. It is claimed that Russia further demanded 160 sq. kilometres of land near Lake Ritsa in Gagra District, after the Abkhaz side proved that the southern part of Aibga belonged to the Georgian SSR, the claim on the village was dropped by Russia. On 11 June 2014, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili generated controversy when he told the BBC News that Russia was not interested in annexing Abkhazia, the opposition United National Movement criticised this statement, accusing Garibashvili of failing to defend state interests on the international arena. Russia signed alliance and integration agreements with Abkhazia in November 2014, the border between Russia and South Ossetia was also effectively dissolved, with customs being integrated

Occupied territories of Georgia
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"The Law of Georgia on Occupied Territories" (in Georgian), 23 October 2008.
Occupied territories of Georgia
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Georgian administrative divisions are outlined in black. Russian-occupied territories (Abkhazia and South Ossetia) are shown in pink.
Occupied territories of Georgia
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A Georgian villager is left beyond the barbed-wire fence installed by the Russian troops along the South Ossetia–Georgia demarcation line in September 2013.

17.
Transnistria
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The region is considered by the UN to be part of Moldova. The PMR controls a narrow strip of territory to the east of the River Dniester, unrecognised by any United Nations member state, Transnistria is designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Transnistria autonomous territorial unit with special legal status, or Stînga Nistrului. As part of agreement, a three-party Joint Control Commission supervises the security arrangements in the demilitarised zone. Its authorities have adopted a constitution, flag, national anthem and it is the only country still using the hammer and sickle on its flag. After a 2005 agreement between Moldova and Ukraine, all Transnistrian companies that seek to export goods through the Ukrainian border must be registered with the Moldovan authorities and this agreement was implemented after the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine took force in 2005. Most Transnistrians also have Moldovan citizenship, but many Transnistrians also have Russian and Ukrainian citizenship, the largest ethnic group is Moldovans, who historically had a higher share of the population, up to 49. 4% in 1926. Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia are post-Soviet frozen conflict zones and these four partially recognised states maintain friendly relations with each other and form the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations. The region is known in English as Trans-Dniestr or Transdniestria. Etymologically, these names are adaptations of the Romanian colloquial name of the region, the documents of the government of Moldova refer to the region as Stînga Nistrului meaning Left Bank of the Dniester. The name of the according to the Transnistrian authorities is Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. The short form of name is Pridnestrovie. Pridnestrovie is a transliteration of the Russian Приднестровье meaning by the Dniester, indo-European tribes had for millennia inhabited the area where Transnistria now is when it was a borderland between Dacia and Scythia. The Tyragetae inhabited the area around the River Dniester as well as the Scythians, early Germanic and Turkic tribes were present in the area during their attacks and invasions of the Roman Empire. From 56 AD, the area around the city of Tyras was occupied by the Romans for nearly four centuries. Tyras enjoyed great development during Roman times, there is a series of its coins with heads of emperors from Domitian to Alexander Severus, but in the second half of the fourth century the area was continuously attacked by barbarians and the Roman legionaries left Tyras. In the early Middle Ages, Slavic tribes of Tivertsi and Ulichs populated larger areas, including Transnistria, followed by Turkic nomads such as the Petchenegs and Cumans. Possibly an early part of Kievan Rus, after the Mongol invasion of Europe in 1241, prince of Moldavia George Ducas built a court at Țicanova on the east bank of the Dniester, and one at Nimirov on the Southern Bug, last mentioned in Moldavian hands in 1765. The localities Dubăsari, Rașcov, Vasilcău, as well as four other currently in Ukraine are mentioned in 17th–18th centuries as fairs for the Dniester-Bug region

Transnistria
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Political map of Transnistria with the differences between the Autonomous Dniestrian Territory de jure and the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic de facto.
Transnistria
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Flag
Transnistria
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Igor Smirnov
Transnistria
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Soviet symbols are still used in Transnistria.

18.
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
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Nagorno-Karabakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh, is an unrecognised republic in the South Caucasus. The region is considered by the UN to be part of Azerbaijan, the dispute was largely shelved after the Soviet Union established control over the area and created the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast within the Azerbaijan SSR in 1923. During the fall of the Soviet Union, the region re-emerged as a source of dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in 1991, a referendum held in the NKAO and the neighbouring Shahumian region resulted in a declaration of independence. Large-scale ethnic conflict led to the 1991–1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War, which ended with a ceasefire that left the current borders, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is a semi-presidential democracy with a unicameral legislature. Its reliance on Armenia means that in many ways it functions de facto as part of Armenia, the country is very mountainous, averaging 1,097 metres above sea level. The population is predominantly Christian, most being affiliated with the Armenian Apostolic Church, several historical monasteries are popular with tourists, mostly from the Armenian diaspora, as most travel can take place only between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is a democracy, whereby the executive power resides with both the President and the Prime Minister. The president is elected for a maximum of two-consecutive five-year terms. The current President is Bako Sahakyan, in the most recent presidential elections, held on 19 July 2012, Sahakyan was reelected to a second term. The President appoints a potential Prime Minister who is approved by a majority vote in the National Assembly. The National Assembly is a unicameral legislature and it has 33 members who are elected for 5-year terms. Three organisations have members in the parliament, the Democratic Party of Artsakh has 18 members, Free Motherland has 8 members, Nagorno-Karabakh is heavily dependent on Armenia, and in many ways de facto functions and is administered as part of Armenia. On 3 November 2006, the then-President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Arkadi Ghukasyan and it was held on 10 December of the same year and voters overwhelmingly approved the new constitution. According to official results, with a turnout of 87. 2%. The First article of the document describes the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic as a sovereign, more than 100 non-governmental international observers and journalists who monitored the poll evaluated it positively, stating that it was held to a high international standard. Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis asserted that the poll will not be recognized, and is therefore of no consequence. The outcome was also criticised by Turkey, which traditionally supports Azerbaijan because of common ethnic Turkic roots, another referendum was held on 20 February 2017, with a 87. 6% vote in favour on a 76% turnout for instituting a new constitution. The new name implies a claim to the areas controlled beyond the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, the referendum is seen as a response to the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes

19.
History of Ossetia
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Ossetia is an ethnolinguistic region located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. The Ossetian language is part of the Eastern Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages family, the northern portion of the region consists of the republic of North Ossetia–Alania within the Russian Federation. 1922 — Creation of South Ossetia in Kartli, renaming of Ossetia into North Ossetia, North Ossetia remains a part of Russian SFSR, South Ossetia remains a part of Georgian SSR.20 September 1990 — Independent Republic of South Ossetia. The republic remained unrecognized, yet it detached itself from Georgia de facto, on Sunday 12 November 2006, South Ossetians went to the polls to vote in a referendum regarding the regions independence from Georgia. The result was a yes to independence, with a turnout above 95% from those among the territorys 70,000 people who were eligible to vote at that time, there was also a vote in favour of a new term for South Ossetias president, Eduard Kokoity. On August 8,2008, the 2008 South Ossetia war broke out, involving Georgia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, history of North Ossetia–Alania Alania Jászság Samachablo Ossetian Dance, Rustavi Dance Company,2008

20.
Caucasus
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The Caucasus /ˈkɔːkəsəs/ or Caucasia /kɔːˈkeɪʒə/ is a region at the border of Europe and Asia, situated between the Black and the Caspian seas. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europes highest mountain, politically, the Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern parts. The southern parts consist of independent sovereign states, and the parts are under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. The region is known for its diversity, aside from Indo-European and Turkic languages, the Kartvelian, Northwest Caucasian. Pliny the Elders Natural History derives the name of the Caucasus from Scythian kroy-khasis, German linguist Paul Kretschmer notes that the Latvian word Kruvesis also means ice. According to German philologists Otto Schrader and Alfons A. Nehring, the South Caucasus region and southern Dagestan were the furthest points of Persian expansions, with areas to the north of Caucasus Mountains practically impregnable. The mythological mountain of Qaf, the worlds highest mountain that ancient lore shrouded in mystery, was said to be situated in this region, therefore, the Caucasus might be associated with the legendary mountain. The Ciscaucasus contains the majority of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range. It includes Southwestern Russia and northern parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan, the Transcaucasus is bordered on the north by Russia, on the west by the Black Sea and Turkey, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the south by Iran. It includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands, all of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are in South Caucasus. The main Greater Caucasus range is generally perceived to be the line between Asia and Europe. The highest peak in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, the Caucasus is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse regions on Earth. The nation states that comprise the Caucasus today are the post-Soviet states Georgia, Armenia, three territories in the region claim independence but are recognized as such by only a handful or by no independent states, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are recognised by the majority of independent states as part of Georgia, the Russian divisions include Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the autonomous republics of Adygea, Karachay–Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. The region has many different languages and language families, there are more than 50 ethnic groups living in the region. Russian is used as a common language, today the peoples of the Northern and Southern Caucasus tend to be either Eastern Orthodox Christians, Oriental Orthodox Christians, or Sunni Muslims. Shia Islam has had many adherents historically in Azerbaijan, located in the part of the region. Located on the peripheries of Turkey, Iran, and Russia, the region has been an arena for political, military, religious, throughout its history, the Caucasus was usually incorporated into the Iranian world

21.
Sarmatian
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The Sarmatians were a large confederation of Iranian people during classical antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD. They spoke Scythian, an Indo-European language from the Eastern Iranian family and their territory, which was known as Sarmatia to Greco-Roman ethnographers, corresponded to the western part of greater Scythia. In the 1st century AD the Sarmatians began encroaching upon the Roman Empire in alliance with Germanic tribes, in the 3rd century AD their dominance of the Pontic Steppe was broken by the Germanic Goths. With the Hunnic invasions of the 4th century, many Sarmatians joined the Goths, a related people to the Sarmatians known as the Alans survived in the North Caucasus into the Early Middle Ages, ultimately giving rise to the modern Ossetic ethnic group. The Sarmatians were eventually assimilated and absorbed by the Proto-Slavic population of Eastern Europe. Sarmatae probably originated as just one of several names of the Sarmatians. Strabo in the 1st century names as the tribes of the Sarmatians the Iazyges, the Roxolani, the Aorsi. The Greek name Sarmatai sometimes appears as Sauromatai, which is almost certainly no more than a variant of the same name, nevertheless, historians often regarded these as two separate peoples, while archaeologists habitually use the term Sauromatian to identify the earliest phase of Sarmatian culture. Any idea that the name derives from the lizard, linking to the Sarmatians use of reptile-like scale armour. Both Pliny the Elder and Jordanes recognised the Sar- and Sauro- elements as interchangeable variants, Greek authors of the 4th century mention Syrmatae as the name of a people living at the Don, perhaps reflecting the ethnonym as it was pronounced in the final phase of Sarmatian culture. Oleg Trubachyov derived the name from the Indo-Aryan *sar-mat, the Indo-Aryan and Indo-Iranian word *sar-, by this derivation was noted the unusual high status of women from the Greek point of view and went to the invention of Amazons. Other scholars, like Harold Walter Bailey, derived the word from Avestan sar- from tsar- in Old Iranian. It was also derived from the name of Avestan region in the west Sairima, recently R. M. Kozlova derived it from *Sъrm- < Proto-Slavic adjective *sъrmatъ, with the meaning that is rich with sormima i. e. shallows, referring to the rivers. The Sarmatians emerged in the 7th century BC in a region of the steppe to the east of the Don River, for centuries they lived in relatively peaceful co-existence with their western neighbors the Scythians. Then, in the 3rd century BC, they fought with the Scythians on the Pontic steppe to the north of the Black Sea, the Sarmatians were to dominate these territories over the next five centuries. Pliny the Elder wrote that they ranged from the Vistula River to the Danube, in 1947, Soviet archaeologist Boris Grakov defined a culture flourishing from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD, apparent in late kurgan graves, sometimes reusing part of much older kurgans. It was a nomadic steppe culture ranging from the Black Sea eastward to beyond the Volga, in Hungary, a great Late Sarmatian pottery centre was reportedly unearthed between 2001 and 2006 near Budapest, in the Üllő5 archaeological site. Typical grey, granular Üllő5 ceramics form a group of Sarmatian pottery found everywhere in the north central part of the Great Hungarian Plain region

22.
North Caucasus
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The North Caucasus or Ciscaucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Sea of Azov and Black Sea on the west and the Caspian Sea on the east, within European Russia. Geopolitically, the Northern Caucasus includes the Russian republics and krais of the North Caucasus, the outer border of the Soviet Unions North Caucasus Krai was the same as that of present-day North Caucasus Economic Region which includes an oblast, two krais, and seven republics. The former North Caucasus Military District also included Astrakhan Oblast, Volgograd Oblast, and its administrative center was Rostov-on-Don until 10 January 1934, Pyatigorsk until January 1936, then Ordzhonikidze and, from 15 December 1936, Voroshilovsk. Geographically, the term North Caucasus also refers to the slope and western extremity of the Caucasus Major mountain range. The Forecaucasus steppe area is also encompassed under the notion of Ciscaucasus, thus the northern boundary of the Forecaucasus steppe is generally considered to be the Manych River. Ciscaucasus was historically covered by the Pontic steppe, mostly on fertile calcareous chernozyom soils and it is bounded by the Sea of Azov on the west, and the Caspian Sea on the east. According to the Concise Atlas of the World, Second Edition, shaw, Institute of British Geographers Media related to North Caucasus at Wikimedia Commons North Caucasus travel guide from Wikivoyage Relations between The North and South Caucasus. Articles in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No.27

North Caucasus
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The village of Tindi, in Dagestan, in the late 1890s.
North Caucasus
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North Caucasus regions within the Russian Federation.

23.
Kingdom of Kartli
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The Kingdom of Kartli was a feudal Georgian state that existed from 1466/84 to 1762, with the city of Tbilisi as its capital. Through much of period of time the kingdom was a vassal of the Persian empire. Georgia experienced a degree of civil instability, feudal separatism. In 1465, George VIII was captured by Kvarkvare II Jaqeli the Atabeg of Samtskhe, sensing opportunity, Bagrat VI immediately proclaimed himself King of Kartli as well and took control of it in 1466. Bagrat VI continued to rule Kartli until 1478, when he was challenged by yet another pretender to the throne, Constantine II, the attempts of Constantine II, in 1489, to restore his rule over united kingdom of Kartli-Imereti were unsuccessful. In 1490, he was forced to recognize the splitting of Georgian kingdom into kingdoms of Kartli, Imereti, Kakheti. The new realms were not long at peace, soon after coming into power, George II of Kakheti launched an expedition against Kartli, intending to depose King David X and conquer his kingdom. Davids brother Bagrat successfully defended the kingdom and managed to capture George II in an ambush, peace didnt linger in the west either, as David X faced incursions from Alexander II of Imereti, who was somewhat less successful than his Kakhetian counterpart. From the mid-16th century till 1762, Kartli stayed under intermittent Persian rule and was a part of their various dynasties. It regularly paid tribute and sent gifts to the shah in the form of boys and girls for use as slaves, horses, and wines. Following the Treaty of Georgievsk and the sack of Tblisi by Agha Mohammad Khan, Russian suzerainty over Kakheti and the rest of Georgia became finalised with Qajar Iran in 1813 with the Treaty of Gulistan. List of kings of Georgia Kartli kings family tree

24.
North Ossetia
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The Republic of North Ossetia-Alania is a federal subject of Russia. Its population according to the 2010 Census was 712,980 and its capital is the city of Vladikavkaz. The term of Alania quickly became popular in Ossetian daily life through the names of various enterprises, in November 1994, the name of Alania was officially added to the republican title. The republic is located in the North Caucasus, the northern part of the republic is situated in the Stavropol Plain. 22% of the territory is covered by forests. Mount Kazbek is the highest point, with Mount Dzhimara being the second highest, natural resources include minerals, timber, mineral waters, hydroelectric power, and untapped reserves of oil and gas. Average January temperature, −5 °C Average July temperature, +24 °C Average annual precipitation, 400–700 millimeters in the plains, the territory of North Ossetia was first inhabited by Caucasian tribes. Some Nomadic Alans settled in the region in the 7th century and it was eventually converted to Christianity by missionaries from Byzantium. Alania greatly profited from the Silk Road which passed through its territory, after the Middle Ages, the Mongols and Tartars repeated invasions decimated the population, now known as the Ossetians. Islam was introduced to the region in the 17th century by Kabardians, conflicts between the Khanate of Crimea and the Ottoman Empire eventually pushed Ossetia into an alliance with Imperial Russia in the 18th century. Soon, Russia established a base in the capital, Vladikavkaz. By 1806, Ossetia was under complete Russian control, the Russians rule led to rapid development of industry and railways which overcame its isolation. The first books from the area came during the late 18th century, the Russian Revolution of 1917 resulted in North Ossetia being merged into the Soviet Mountain Republic in 1921. It then became the North Ossetian Autonomous Oblast on 7 July 1924, in World War II, it was subject to a number of attacks by Nazi German invaders unsuccessfully trying to seize Vladikavkaz in 1942. The North Ossetian SSR declared itself the autonomous republic of the Soviet Union on June 20,1990 and its name was changed to Republic of North Ossetia-Alania in 1991. Some 70,000 South Ossetian refugees were resettled in North Ossetia and that led to the Ossetian–Ingush conflict. As well as dealing with the effects of the conflict in South Ossetia, North Ossetia has had to deal with refugees, the bloodiest incident by far was the September 2004 Beslan hostage crisis, in which Chechen insurgents attributed to Shamil Basayev seized control of a school. In the firefight between the terrorists and Russian forces that ended the crisis,335 civilians, the majority of them children, a physical education teacher called Yanis Kanidis was also killed in the siege after saving the lives of many children

North Ossetia
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North Ossetian landscape Kwyrttaty kom
North Ossetia
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Flag
North Ossetia
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Cableway in Tsey canyon
North Ossetia
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Seat of the Republic's Government

25.
Terek River
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The Terek River, a major river in the Northern Caucasus, flows through Georgia and Russia into the Caspian Sea. It turns east to flow through Chechnya and Dagestan before dividing into two branches which empty into the Caspian Sea, below the city of Kizlyar it forms a swampy river delta around 100 kilometres wide. The river is a key asset in the region, providing irrigation. The main cities on the Terek include Vladikavkaz, Mozdok, several minor hydroelectric power stations dam the Terek, Dzau electrostation, Bekanskaya and Pavlodolskaya. Construction has started of the Dariali Hydropower Plant, with an installed capacity of 108 MW. Leo Tolstoys novel The Cossacks is set on the Terek and amongst its Cossacks, the Terek drains most of the northeast Caucasus east into the Caspian just as its sister, the Kuban River, drains the northwest Caucasus west into the Black Sea. Its major tributaries are the following, in the west a fan of rivers flows east and northeast into the Terek. These are the east-flowing Malka River, the Baksan River, the Chergem River and these three join the Malka just before it reaches the Terek. Then there is the part of the Terek with the Darial Pass. The great northwest bend of the Terek is cut off by the northeast-flowing Sunzha River which catches most of the north-flowing rivers and these are the north-flowing upper Sunzha, the Assa River, the Argun and Khukhulau. East of these are the Aksay River and the Aktash River which formerly dried up in the lowlands between the Sulak and the Terek, in the east the Sulak River drains most of interior Dagestan and turns east to the Caspian before it reaches the Terek. The capital of Khazaria, Samandar, may have stood on the banks of the river Terek, also on the river Timur defeated Tokhtamysh in 1395. The Terek Cossack Host had its base in the Terek basin, during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus it was part of the North Caucasus Line

Terek River
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The Terek river in Vladikavkaz
Terek River
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Map of Terek river
Terek River
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Mountain Zilgi-Khokh and source of River Terek in 1886.
Terek River
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Terek river in North Georgia

26.
Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti
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By the 1790s, a new strong Iranian dynasty had emerged under Agha Mohammad Khan, who founded the Qajar dynasty of Iran, which would prove pivotal in the history of the short-lived kingdom. In the next few years, having secured mainland Iran, the new Iranian king straightly set out to reconquer the Caucasus, following the Russo-Persian War, Iran officially ceded the kingdom to Russia, marking the start of a Russian-centred chapter in Georgian history. Historically, Kartli was the dominant province in Georgia, but at that time, therefore, the Kings of Kakheti became the rulers of the new kingdom and Telavi, the capital of Kakheti, the capital of the new state. The unification did not deter the Persian Empire, now under the Qajar dynasty, from bringing it back within the Iranian domains. However, despite these large concessions made to Russia, Erekle II was successful in retaining internal autonomy in his kingdom. Following the death of Nader Shah, the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti had broken free from Iranian rule, between 1747 and 1795, Erekle was therefore, by the turn of events in Iran following the ongoing turmoil there, able to maintain Georgias autonomy through the Zand period. In 1783, Heraclius placed his kingdom under the protection of the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Georgievsk. In the last few decades of the 18th century, Georgia had become an important element in Russo-Iranian relations than some provinces in northern mainland Iran. On top of that, having another port on the Georgian coast of the Black Sea would be ideal, the consequences of these events came a few years later, when a new dynasty, the Qajars, emerged victorious in the protracted power struggle in Iran. Qajar shah, Agha Mohammad Khan, as his first objective, for Agha Mohammah Khan, the re-subjugation and reintegration of Georgia into the Iranian Empire was part of the same process that had brought Shiraz, Esfahan, and Tabriz under his rule. He him, like to the Safavids and Nader Shah before him, as the Cambridge History of Iran states, its permanent secession was inconceivable and had to be resisted in the same way as one would resist an attempt at the separation of Fars or Gilan. The Ottomans, Irans neighboring rival, recognized the rights over Kartli. Nevertheless, Heraclius II still rejected the shah’s ultimatum. Petersburg, with half of the troops Agha Mohammad Khan crossed the Aras river. He now marched directly upon Tbilisi, where it commenced into a battle between the Iranian and Georgian armies. Erekle had managed to mobilize some 5,000 troops, including some 2,000 from neighboring Imereti under its King Solomon II, the Georgians, hopelessly outnumbered, were eventually defeated despite stiff resistance. In a few hours, the Iranian king Agha Mohammad Khan was in control of the Georgian capital. The Persian army marched back laden with spoil and carrying off thousands of captives, by this, after the conquest of Tbilisi and being in effective control of eastern Georgia, Agha Mohammad was formally crowned Shah in 1796 in the Mughan plain. As the Cambridge History of Iran notes, Russias client, Georgia, had been punished, Heraclius II returned to Tbilisi to rebuild the city, but the destruction of his capital was a death blow to his hopes and projects

Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti
Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti
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Flag
Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti
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Detail from the map by Claude Buffier, 1736
Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti
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Entrance of the Russian troops in Tiflis, 26 November 1799, by Franz Roubaud, 1886

27.
Bakuriani
–
Bakuriani is a daba and a skiing resort in the Borjomi district of Georgia. It is located on the slope of the Trialeti Range. The region around Bakuriani is covered by coniferous forests, the resort lies 30 km from Borjomi and is located within the so-called Bakuriani Depression/caldera. The resort is connected with Borjomi by an electrified narrow-gauge railway, the present-day area of the town was built up by the lava flows from the Mukheri volcano. The highest mountain of the used for skiing is called Mount Kohta at around 2,200 meters above sea level. The climate of Bakuriani is transitional from humid maritime to relatively humid continental, the winters are cold and experience significant snowfall while the summers are long and warm. Average annual temperature of the town is 4.3 degrees Celsius, the average temperature in January is -7.3 degrees Celsius while the average August temperature is 15 degrees Celsius. The annual precipitation is 734 mm, the depth of snow from December to March is 64 cm. Bakuriani is also home to the Botanical Garden of the Georgian Academy of Sciences and it was the home town of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died during event training on the first day of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He lived in Bakuriani for much his life, and the street he lived on was named in his honor after his death, the 37 km Borjomi-Bakuriani railway Kukushka uses 912 mm track gauge. A few km south of Bakuriani lies the trajectory of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, list of ski areas and resorts in Europe www. bakuriani. ge

28.
Kakheti
–
Kakheti is a region formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. The region comprises eight districts, Telavi, Gurjaani, Kvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi. Kakheti is bordered by the Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, the Georgian David Gareja monastery complex is partially located in this province and is subject to a border dispute between Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities. It also includes the region of Hereti whose name has fallen into gradual oblivion since the 15th century. It was incorporated into the united Georgian Kingdom at the beginning of the eleventh century, only in the beginning of the twelfth century did Georgian King David the Builder incorporate Kakheti into his Kingdom successfully. After the disintegration of the Georgian Kingdom, Kakheti became an independent Kingdom in the 1460s, from the early 16th century till the early 19th century, Kakheti and its neighboring Kartli came under intermittent Iranian rule. During all these centuries the region was a part of Iran and it supplied many notable generals, administrators, women. In 1762, the Kakhetian Kingdom was united with the neighboring Georgian Kingdom of Kartli into the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti under King Erekle II. Following the Treaty of Georgievsk and the sack of Tblisi by Agha Mohammad Khan, Russian suzerainty over Kakheti and the rest of Georgia was recognized by Qajar Iran in the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan. In 1918–1921 Kakheti was part of the independent Democratic Republic of Georgia, in 1922–1936 part of the Transcaucasian SFSR, since the Georgian independence in 1991, Kakheti has been a region of the republic of Georgia. The travel infrastructure in Kakheti is fast developing, since it is the most visited region of Georgia, one can choose to stay in a guest house, in a small and comfortable hotel, or a beautiful boutique-style hotel while traveling in this region. Telavi and Signagi are the most visited towns, Signagi was renovated three years ago. Until recently there were only some family hotels, but now Signagi features several hotels, list of sovereigns of Kakheti www. kakheti. net - information Kakheti region website Kakheti regional administration website Kakheti travel guide from Wikivoyage

Kakheti
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Signagi is becoming an important cultural center in the region
Kakheti
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Kakheti კახეთი
Kakheti
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The Alazani River Plain, with the Caucasus Mountains in the background
Kakheti
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Gremi church in Kakheti.

29.
Mensheviks
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The dispute originated at the Second Congress of the RSDLP, ostensibly over minor issues of party organization. Neither side held a consistent majority over the course of the congress, Lenins formulation required the party member to be a member of one of the partys organizations, whereas Martovs only stated that he should work under the guidance of a party organization. Martovs proposal was accepted by the majority of the delegates and that was also the reason behind the naming of the factions. Despite the outcome of the congress, the years saw the Mensheviks gathering considerable support among regular Social Democrats. In 1906, at the 4th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, on the other hand, numerous disagreements about alliances and strategy emerged. The two factions kept their separate structures and continued to operate separately, both believed that the working class had to contribute to this revolution. In the event of a revolution, this was meant to lead to a dictatorship of the proletariat and the peasantry, the Mensheviks came to argue for predominantly legal methods and trade union work, while the Bolsheviks favoured armed violence. Some Mensheviks left the party after the defeat of 1905 and joined legal opposition organisations, after a while, Lenins patience wore out with their compromising and in 1908 he called these Mensheviks liquidationists. The Menshevik faction split further in 1914 at the beginning of World War I, most Mensheviks opposed the war, but a vocal minority supported it in terms of national defense. They called for a revolution and transfer of all power to the Soviets. In March–April 1917, the Menshevik leadership conditionally supported the newly formed liberal Russian Provisional Government, from then on, the Mensheviks had at least one representative in the Provisional Government until it was overthrown by the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution of 1917. With Mensheviks and Bolsheviks diverging, Mensheviks and non-factional social democrats returning from exile in Europe, others, like Alexandra Kollontai, joined the Bolsheviks. A significant number, including Leon Trotsky and Adolf Joffe, joined the non-factional Petrograd-based anti-war group called Mezhraiontsy, a small but influential group of social democrats associated with Maxim Gorkys newspaper Novaya Zhizn refused to join either party. The Mensheviks got just 3. 3% of the national vote,41. 7% of their support came from the Transcaucasus. In Georgia about 75% voted for them, the right wing of the Menshevik party supported actions against the Bolsheviks, while the left wing, the majority of the Mensheviks at that point, supported the Left in the ensuing Russian Civil War. However, Martovs leftist Menshevik faction refused to break with the wing of the party, resulting in their press being sometimes banned. The Mensheviks opposed war communism, and in 1919 suggested an alternative programme, during World War I, some anti-war Mensheviks had formed a group called Menshevik-Internationalists. They were active around the newspaper Novaya Zhizn and took part in the Mezhraiontsy formation. After July 1917 events in Russia, they broke with the Menshevik majority that supported continued war with Germany, the Mensheviks-Internationalists became the hub of the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party

30.
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
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The Republic comprised sixteen autonomous republics, five autonomous oblasts, ten autonomous okrugs, six krais, and forty oblasts. Russians formed the largest ethnic group, the capital of the Russian SFSR was Moscow and the other major urban centers included Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara. The Russian Soviet Republic was proclaimed on November 7,1917 as a sovereign state, the first Constitution was adopted in 1918. In 1922 the Russian SFSR signed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR, the economy of Russia became heavily industrialized, accounting for about two-thirds of the electricity produced in the USSR. It was, by 1961, the third largest producer of petroleum due to new discoveries in the Volga-Urals region and Siberia, trailing only the United States and Saudi Arabia. In 1974, there were 475 institutes of education in the republic providing education in 47 languages to some 23,941,000 students. A network of territorially organized public-health services provided health care, the effects of market policies led to the failure of many enterprises and total instability by 1990. On June 12,1990, the Congress of Peoples Deputies adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty, on June 12,1991, Boris Yeltsin was elected the first President. On December 8,1991, heads of Russia, Ukraine, the agreement declared dissolution of the USSR by its founder states and established the Commonwealth of Independent States. On December 12, the agreement was ratified by the Russian Parliament, therefore Russian SFSR denounced the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and de facto declared Russias independence from the USSR. On December 25,1991, following the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev as president of the Soviet Union, on December 26,1991, the USSR was self-dissolved by the Soviet of Nationalities, which by that time was the only functioning house of the Supreme Soviet. After dissolution of the USSR, Russia declared that it assumed the rights and obligations of the dissolved central Soviet government, the new Russian constitution, adopted on December 12,1993 after a constitutional crisis, abolished the Soviet system of government in its entirety. Initially, the state did not have a name and wasnt recognized by neighboring countries for five months. Meanwhile, anti-Bolsheviks coined the mocking label Sovdepia for the nascent state of the Soviets of Workers, on January 25,1918 the third meeting of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets renamed the unrecognized state the Soviet Russian Republic. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on March 3,1918, on July 10,1918, the Russian Constitution of 1918 renamed the country the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. By 1918, during the Russian Civil War, several states within the former Russian Empire seceded, internationally, in 1920, the RSFSR was recognized as an independent state only by Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania in the Treaty of Tartu and by the short-lived Irish Republic. On December 30,1922, with the creation of the Soviet Union, the final Soviet name for the republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, was adopted in the Soviet Constitution of 1936. By that time, Soviet Russia had gained roughly the same borders of the old Tsardom of Russia before the Great Northern War of 1700

31.
Red Army invasion of Georgia
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The independence of Georgia had been recognized by Soviet Russia in the Treaty of Moscow, signed on 7 May 1920, and the subsequent invasion of the country was not universally agreed upon in Moscow. Soviet forces took the Georgian capital Tbilisi after heavy fighting and declared the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic on 25 February 1921, the rest of the country was overrun within three weeks, but it was not until September 1924 that Soviet rule was firmly established. Georgia effectively escaped Russian control in the aftermath of the February Revolution in Russia in 1917. After an abortive attempt to unite with Armenia and Azerbaijan in a federative state, although there were a significant number of highly qualified officers who had served in the Imperial Russian military, the army as a whole was underfed and poorly equipped. Since early 1920, local Bolsheviks were actively fomenting political unrest in Georgia, capitalizing on agrarian disturbances in rural areas, the operational centre of the Soviet military-political forces in the Caucasus was the Kavburo attached to the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party. Set up in February 1920, this body was chaired by the Georgian Bolshevik Grigol Ordzhonikidze, the Soviet leadership successfully exploited this situation and sent in its army to occupy Baku, the capital of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. Following the establishment of Soviet rule in Baku in April 1920, Ordzhonikidze, probably acting on his own initiative, when the coup failed, the Georgian government was able to concentrate all its forces on successfully blocking the Soviet advance over the Georgian-Azerbaijani border. Facing a difficult war with Poland, Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin ordered a start to negotiations with Georgia, in the Treaty of Moscow signed on 7 May 1920, Soviet Russia recognized Georgias independence and concluded a non-aggression pact. The treaty established the borders between the two nations de jure and also obliged Georgia to surrender all third-party elements considered hostile by Moscow. In a secret supplement, Georgia promised to legalize the local Bolshevik party, despite the peace treaty, an eventual overthrow of the Menshevik-dominated government of Georgia was both intended and planned. Stalin called his homeland the kept woman of the Western Powers, Georgian independence was seen as a propaganda victory for exiled Russian Mensheviks in Europe, the Bolsheviks couldnt long tolerate a viable Menshevik state on their own doorstep. By that time, the British expeditionary corps had completely evacuated the Caucasus, Soviet military intervention was not universally agreed upon in Moscow, and there was considerable disagreement among the Bolshevik leaders on how to deal with their southern neighbor. He strongly supported a military overthrow of the Georgian government and continuously urged Lenin to give his consent for an advance into Georgia. The Peoples Commissar of War, Leon Trotsky, strongly disagreed with what he described as a “premature intervention”, for many Bolsheviks, self-determination was increasingly seen as a diplomatic game which has to be played in certain cases. Meanwhile, the Bolsheviks had already set up a Georgian Revolutionary Committee in Shulaveri, chaired by the Georgian Bolshevik Filipp Makharadze, the Revkom formally applied to Moscow for help. Disturbances also erupted in the town of Dusheti and among Ossetians in northeast Georgia who resented the Georgian governments refusal to grant them autonomy, Georgian forces managed to contain the disorders in some areas, but the preparations for a Soviet intervention were already being set in train. The ultimate decision was made at the 14 February meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and it was opposed by Karl Radek and was held secret from Trotsky who was in the Ural area at that time. Later Trotsky would reconcile himself to the fact and even defend the invasion in a special pamphlet

Red Army invasion of Georgia
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The Red Army in Tbilisi, Feb 25 1921
Red Army invasion of Georgia
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Mikhail Tukhachevsky with Grigol Ordzhonikidze in the headquarters of the Soviet Caucasus Front, c. 1921
Red Army invasion of Georgia
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Georgian officers at the Headquarters of People’s Guard in Tbilisi
Red Army invasion of Georgia
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The 11th Red Army occupies Tbilisi. 25 February 1921

32.
Bolsheviks
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The RSDLP was a revolutionary socialist political party formed in 1898 in Minsk in Belarus to unite the various revolutionary organisations of the Russian Empire into one party. In the Second Party Congress vote, the Bolsheviks won on the majority of important issues and they ultimately became the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Bolsheviks or Reds came to power in Russia during the October Revolution phase of the Russian Revolution of 1917, with the Reds defeating the Whites, and others during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922, the RSFSR became the chief constituent of the Soviet Union in December 1922. Their beliefs and practices were often referred to as Bolshevism, in the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, held in Brussels and London during August 1903, Lenin and Julius Martov disagreed over the membership rules. Lenin wanted members who recognise the Party Programme and support it by material means, Julius Martov suggested by regular personal assistance under the direction of one of the partys organisations. Lenin advocated limiting party membership to a core of active members. A main source of the factions could be attributed to Lenin’s steadfast opinion. It was obvious at early stages in Lenin’s revolutionary practices that he would not be willing to concede on any party policy that conflicted with his own predetermined ideas and it was the loyalty that he had to his own self-envisioned utopia that caused the party split. He was seen even by fellow party members as being so narrow minded that he believed there were only two types of people, Friend and enemy—those who followed him, and all the rest. Leon Trotsky, one of Lenins fellow revolutionaries, compared Lenin in 1904 to the French revolutionary Robespierre, Lenins view of politics as verbal and ideological warfare and his inability to accept criticism even if it came from his own dedicated followers was the reason behind this accusation. The root of the split was a book titled What is to be Done. that Lenin wrote while serving a sentence of exile, in Germany, the book was published in 1902, in Russia, strict censorship outlawed its publication and distribution. One of the points of Lenin’s writing was that a revolution can only be achieved by the strong leadership of one person over the masses. After the proposed revolution had overthrown the government, this individual leader must release power. Lenin also wrote that revolutionary leaders must dedicate their lives to the cause in order for it to be successful. Lenins view of a socialist intelligentsia showed that he was not a supporter of Marxist theory. For example, Lenin agreed with the Marxist idea of eliminating social classes, most party members considered unequal treatment of workers immoral, and were loyal to the idea of a completely classless society, so Lenin’s variations caused the party internal dissonance. Although the party split of Bolsheviks and Mensheviks would not become official until 1903, as discussed in What is to be Done. Lenin firmly believed that a political structure was needed to effectively initiate a formal revolution

33.
Tiflis Governorate
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Tiflis Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire with its centre in Tiflis. In 1897 it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants, the governorate used to border Elisabethpol Governorate, Erivan Governorate, Kutaisi Governorate, Zakatali okrug, Dagestan Oblast, Terek Oblast, and Kars Oblast. It covered present southeastern Georgia, northern Armenia and northwestern Azerbaijan, Tiflis Governorate was established in 1846 along with the Kutaisi Governorate, after the dissolution of the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate. It was initially formed from uyezds of Tiflis, Gori, Telavi, Signakh, Yelizavetpol, Erivan, Nakhichevan and Alexandropol and okrugs of Zakataly, in 1849, uyezds of Erivan, Nakhichevan and Alexandropol were attached to Erivan Governorate. In 1859 Ossetian okrug became part of Gori district and Tushino-pshaw-Khevsurian okrug was renamed to Tionets, in 1868 Yelizavetpol uyezd was part of Elisabethpol Governorate. In 1874, the part of Akhaltsikhe uyezd was to become Akhalkalaki one. Finally southern part of Tiflis Uyezd was to become Borchali Uyezd, the governorate lasted in these boundaries for 50 years, until the Democratic Republic of Georgia was founded. Ethnic Georgians constituted 44. 3% of the population, followed by Armenians, Azeris, Russians, Ossetians, Avars, Greeks, Turks, more than half of the population adhered to Eastern Orthodox Christianity with significant Muslim, Catholic and Jewish minorities. The administration tasks in the governorate were executed by a governor, sometimes, a military governor was appointed as well. William Henry Beable, Governments or Provinces of the Former Russian Empire, Tiflis, Russian Gazetteer and Guide, London, Russian Outlook – via Open Library

34.
Zviad Gamsakhurdia
–
Zviad Gamsakhurdia was a Georgian politician, dissident, scholar, and writer who became the first democratically elected President of Georgia in the post-Soviet era. Gamsakhurdia is the only Georgian President to have died whilst formally in office, perhaps influenced by his father, Zviad received training in philology and began a professional career as a translator and literary critic. Despite the countrys association with Joseph Stalin, Soviet rule in Georgia was particularly harsh during the 1950s, in 1955, Zviad Gamsakhurdia established a youth underground group which he called the Gorgasliani which sought to circulate reports of human rights abuses. In 1956, he was arrested during demonstrations in Tbilisi against the Soviet policy of de-stalinization and was arrested again in 1958 for distributing anti-communist literature and he contributed to the Moscow-based underground periodical Chronicle of Current Events. Gamsakhurdia was also the first Georgian member of the International Society for Human Rights, perhaps seeking to emulate his father, Zviad Gamsakhurdia also pursued a distinguished academic career. He was also an outstanding Rustvelologist and researcher of history of the Iberian-Caucasian culture and his luck ran out in 1977 when the activities of the Helsinki Groups in the Soviet Union became a serious embarrassment to the Soviet government of Leonid Brezhnev. A nationwide crackdown on human rights activists was instigated across the Soviet Union and members of the Helsinki Groups in Moscow, Lithuania, Ukraine, in Georgia, the government of Eduard Shevardnadze arrested Gamsakhurdia and his fellow dissident Merab Kostava on 7 April 1977. There remains some dispute about Gamsakhurdias behaviour or strategy during his pre-trial detention, in particular, this concerns a TV broadcast in which, apparently, he recanted his activities as a human rights activist. A contemporary and uncensored account of events may be found in the Chronicle of Current Events. The two men were sentenced to three years in the camps three years exile for anti-Soviet activities. Gamsakhurdia did not appeal but his sentence was commuted to two years exile in neighbouring Dagestan, kostavas appeal was rejected and he was sent to a penal colony for three years, followed by three years exile or internal banishment to Siberia. Kostavas sentence only ended in 1987, at the end of June 1979, Gamsakhurdia was released from jail and pardoned in controversial circumstances. By then, taking pre-trial detention into account, he had served two years of his sentence, the authorities claimed that he had confessed to the charges and recanted his beliefs, a film clip was shown on Soviet television to substantiate their claim. According to a transcript published by the Soviet news agency TASS, bourgeois propaganda seized upon my mistakes and created a hullabaloo around me, which causes me pangs of remorse. I have realized the essence of the campaign launched in the West. Perhaps more importantly, his actions ensured that the dissident leadership could remain active, Kostava and Gamsakhurdia later both independently stated that the latters recantation had been a tactical move. In an open letter to Shevardnadze, dated April 19,1992, if there had been no confession and my release from the prison in 1979 had not taken place, then there would not have been a rise of the national movement. Gamsakhurdia returned to dissident activities soon after his release, continuing to contribute to samizdat periodicals, in 1981 he became the spokesman of the students and others who protested in Tbilisi about the threats to Georgian identity and the Georgian cultural heritage

35.
1991 Racha earthquake
–
The 1991 Racha earthquake occurred in the province of Racha, Georgia, at 9,12 UTC on 29 April. It had a magnitude of 7.0 and was the most powerful recorded in the Caucasus. Georgia lies between the two chains of the Greater Caucasus in the north and the Lesser Caucasus in the south. These two sets of mountains have both resulted from the effects of the collision between the Arabian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The Greater Caucasus consists of a fold and thrust belt that has been active since the Oligocene. Racha lies close to the margin of this thrust belt. The earthquake affected 700 villages and settlements, destroying 46,000 houses, the number of casualties was reduced because most of the inhabitants were working in the fields at the time of the earthquake,13,13 local time. Many important historical monuments were damaged, particularly the Archangel Church near Zemo Krikhi and the Mravaldzali church. Much of the associated with the earthquake was caused by landslides triggered by the shaking. The most common type were rock falls, followed by slides, slumps, earth slides, rock-block slides. The most destructive was a large debris avalanche, which destroyed the village of Khokheti, a large mass of Jurassic volcanic rock fell onto water-saturated alluvium, combining to form the debris avalanche. Two of the earth slides showed a movement, with most displacement occurring a few days after the main shock. The Chordi landslide was active before the earthquake and showed only minor movement at the time of the main shock, two to three days later, the slide started to move at about 8 m per day, destroying the village of Chordi. On 18 May, the slide was still moving at 2 m per day and this slide moved on claystone of the Maikop Formation and had a total volume of about 20 x 106 m3. The large aftershock on 15 June caused extensive damage in the Java to Tskhinvali area, at least 8 people were killed and 200 injured. However, due to a protest rally by the people, dozens. The village of Khakhet was destroyed, the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0. A maximum intensity of IX on the MSK scale was observed, the calculated focal mechanism showed that the earthquake was a result of low-angle reverse faulting on a fault plane dipping at about 35° to the north-northeast

36.
Georgian Civil War
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While the Gamsakhurdia rebellion was eventually defeated, the South Ossetia and Abkhazia conflicts resulted in the de facto secession of both regions from Georgia. As a result, both conflicts have lingered on, with occasional flare-ups, ethnic minority separatist movements – primarily on the part of the Ossetians and the Abkhaz, demanded fuller recognition in the new order of the early 1990s. Asserting its newly gained national prerogatives, Georgia responded with military attempts to restrain separatism forcibly, on January 5,1991 Georgias National Guard entered Tskhinvali, South Ossetian capital and fighting broke out in and around the city. The Georgian-Ossetian Conflict was the first major crisis faced by Gamsakhurdias government, at the time of the dissolution of the USSR, the United States government recognized as legitimate the pre-Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact 1933 borders of the country. Because of this, the George H. W. Activity of the opposition against the Government of Zviad Gamsakhurdia caused a political dispute. Following the police dispersion of an opposition demonstration in Tbilisi on September 2, several oppositionists were arrested and their offices raided. The National Guard of Georgia, the paramilitary force in the country split into two, pro- and anti-Gamsakhurdia factions. Another powerful paramilitary organization, the Mkhedrioni led by Jaba Ioseliani also sided with the opposition, demonstrations and barricade-building marked the next three months. On 22 September, there were the first fatalities in Tbilisi, on September 24, state of emergency was declared in Tbilisi. On October 4 anti-Gamsakhurdia groups attacked the supporters of Gamsakhurdia, one supporter of the President was killed, by late October 1991, most of the leadership of the oppositional National Democratic Party, headed by Giorgi Chanturia, had been arrested. On 20 December 1991, Kitovanis fighters returned in force to begin the final onslaught against Gamsakhurdia, the armed oppositionists released Jaba Ioseliani, the leader of Mkhedrioni and mounted barricades in central Tbilisi. On December 22, the rebels seized several official buildings, and attacked the Parliament building where Gamsakhurdia, simultaneously, the rebels already controlling most of the city, brutally suppressed pro-Gamsakhurdia protests in and around Tbilisi. They fired on the crowds, killing and wounding several people, within several days of the fighting the main boulevard in the city, Rustaveli Avenue, had been destroyed and at least 113 people were killed. After the successful coup, a government, the Military Council, was formed in Georgia. The 1992 elections established Shevardnadze as the Chairman of Parliament and the Head of State, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, despite his absence, continued to enjoy substantial support within Georgia, especially in rural areas and in his home region of Samegrelo in western Georgia. The supporters of the president, the Zviadists, responded to the coup with spontaneous street demonstrations. One of the most serious occurred in Tbilisi on June 24,1992. However, they were out within a few hours by the National Guard

Georgian Civil War
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Location of Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and the Russian part of North Caucasus

37.
Tengiz Sigua
–
Tengiz Sigua is a Georgian politician and former Prime Minister of the country. Sigua was an engineer by profession and entered politics on the eve of the Soviet Union’s collapse, in 1990 he led an expert group of the bloc Round Table-Free Georgia. Following the first multiparty elections in Georgia, he was elected Chair of the Ministers’ Council of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic on 14 November 1990 and he was the prime minister in Zviad Gamsakhurdia’s government from 15 November 1990 to 18 August 1991. However, he resigned in August 1991 after disagreements with the president, after Gamsakhurdia’s fall, he became Prime Minister in the Georgian interim government which was joined by Eduard Shevardnadze) on 6 January 1992. He was reappointed Prime Minister on 8 November 1992 by the newly elected Parliament and he resigned on 6 August 1993 after the Parliament rejected the budget submitted by the government. He remained as an MP, led the National Liberation Front opposition party, list of Georgians Prime Minister of Georgia

Tengiz Sigua
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Tengiz Sigua თენგიზ სიგუა

38.
Sochi agreement
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Russia brokered a ceasefire and negotiated the Agreement in 1992. The Agreement also created a Joint Control Commission and a peacekeeping body, the JPKF was put under Russian command and was composed of peacekeepers from Georgia, Russia, and North Ossetia. In addition, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe did agree to monitor the ceasefire, the OSCE sought to eliminate sources of tension, support the existing ceasefire, and facilitate a broader political framework to alleviate long term disharmony. In August of the same year UNOMIG was put in place as the UN monitoring force, the truce was violated on September 27 as Abkhaz forces seized Sukhumi and declared victory. The pro-Georgian forces then withdrew to Tbilisi, as Georgia joined the CIS, a further Agreement on a Cease-fire and Separation of Forces, also known as the 1994 Moscow Agreement, was agreed the following year. This would happen to turn into a disappointment, especially for the Georgians, the parties sought to make it easier for the return of refugees and economic reconstruction. The Sochi process signified a regress from the multilateral to a format that left Georgia on its own to face Russia. It also was seen to undermine Georgias argument that the Geneva process was the format for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict. In 2004, Russia were seen to violate the agreement as a Russian company begun maintenance work on the Sochi-Sukhumi railroad, which was legally Georgian, though controlled by Russia and the Abkhaz. The move was seen as a violation whereby restoration could only proceed in parallel with the return of Georgian refugees to Abkhazia beginning with the Gali district. However, there had no progress on the return of refugees. <-- dead-->However, there had no progress on the return of refugees. In 2008, U. S. President George W. Bush and this followed Russian officials objecting to U. S. plans to deploy ballistic missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic. Instead, they insisted the true objective of such moves along Russias periphery was to weaken Russias nuclear deterrent, Text of the agreement Text of the Agreement in English Text of all peace accords for Georgia

39.
Akhalgori
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Akhalgori is a town in South Ossetia, Georgia. The name Akhalgori is the historical name of the town used by the Georgians and officials, whereas Leningori is the name given to the city in the Soviet era. The town is situated on the banks of the River Ksani, the village of Akhalgori was first mentioned in the 18th century by Prince Vakhushti of Kartli in his work The Geographic Description of Georgia. The name derives from the Georgian words meaning new and hill or mountain, before Sovietization of Georgia in 1921, Akhalgori was the residence of Georgian Noble Eristavi Duce. During the Soviet era it was part of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast and was called Leningori after Vladimir Lenin and it was renamed Akhalgori by the Georgian SSR government at the end of 1990. During the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War the town remained under Georgian jurisdiction after most of South Ossetia broke away from the governments control. It came under the control of South Ossetian secessionist authorities as a result of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War on August 17,2008, subsequently, the government of South Ossetia has renamed the town to Leningor. Before the conflict, Akhalgori district had a population of 7,700, the largest villages were Ikorta, Korinta, Qanchaveti, Kvemo Zakhori, Largvisi, Doretkari, and Karchokhi. The population was primarily Georgian and Ossetian with good relations between the two communities, currently Akhalgori as well as South Ossetia are controlled by Russian forces and South Ossetian militia. Official Georgian site of the town Official Ossetian site of the town

Akhalgori
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old palace of Prince Eristov

40.
Richard Lugar
–
Richard Green Dick Lugar is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a United States senator, representing Indiana from 1977 to 2013. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Lugar is a graduate of Denison University and he served on the Indianapolis Board of School Commissioners from 1964 to 1967 before he was elected to two terms as Mayor of Indianapolis, serving from 1968 to 1976. During his tenure as Mayor, Lugar served as the President of the National League of Cities in 1971, in 1974, Lugar ran a failed campaign for the U. S. Senate, losing to incumbent Democratic senator Birch Bayh. He ran again in 1976, defeating Democratic incumbent Vance Hartke, Lugar was reelected in 1982,1988,1994,2000 and 2006. In 2012, Lugar was defeated in a challenge by Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock. Mourdock went on to lose the election to Democrat Joe Donnelly. Lugar ran for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1996, Lugar also twice served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, from 1995 to 2001 and briefly again in part of 2001. He is also the longest-serving senator in Indianas history and until his defeat was the most senior Republican member of the Senate, after leaving the Senate, Lugar created a nonprofit organization that specializes in the policy areas he pursued while in office. The Lugar Center focuses on food and energy security, the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, located in Washington, D. C. the Center works with academics, experts, and policymakers in order to create proposals for these 21st century issues. The Center works to highlight these specific topics and their implications, Lugar is also a member of Partnership for a Secure Americas bipartisan Advisory Board. Richard Lugar was born on April 4,1932 in Indianapolis, Indiana and he is of part German descent. Lugar attended the Indianapolis Public School, during this time he attained the Boy Scouts highest rank, Eagle Scout. Later, he became a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America and he graduated first in his class at Shortridge High School in 1950 and from Denison University in 1954 where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi. He went on to attend Pembroke College, Oxford, England, as a Rhodes Scholar, and received a bachelors degree. He served in the U. S. Navy from 1956 to 1960 and he achieved the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. Lugar manages his familys 604-acre Marion County corn, soybean and tree farm, before entering public life, he helped his brother Tom manage the familys food machinery manufacturing business in Indianapolis. Lugar served on the Indianapolis Board of School Commissioners from 1964 to 1967, at the age of 35, he was elected mayor of Indianapolis in 1967, defeating incumbent Democrat John J. Barton, and began serving the first of two mayoral terms in 1968. A political cartoon of the time questioned how an Eagle Scout could survive in the world of politics and he is closely associated with the adoption of Unigov in 1970, which unified the governments of Indianapolis and Marion County

41.
Russo-Georgian War
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The Russo-Georgian War was a war between Georgia, Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The war took place in August 2008 following a period of worsening relations between Russia and Georgia, both constituent republics of the Soviet Union. The fighting took place in the strategically important Transcaucasia region, which borders the Middle East and it was regarded as the first European war of the 21st century. The Republic of Georgia declared its independence in early 1991 as the Soviet Union began to fall apart, following the war, a joint peacekeeping force of Georgian, Russian, and Ossetian troops was stationed in the territory. Meanwhile, a stalemate developed in the region of Abkhazia. By August 1,2008, Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages, to put an end to these deadly attacks and restore order, the Georgian Army was sent to the South Ossetian conflict zone on 7 August. Georgians took control of most of Tskhinvali, a separatist stronghold, Georgia later stated it was also responding to Russia moving non-peacekeeping units into the country. Russia accused Georgia of aggression against South Ossetia, and launched a land, air. Russian and Ossetian forces battled Georgian forces in and around South Ossetia for several days, Russian and Abkhaz forces opened a second front by attacking the Kodori Gorge held by Georgia. Russian naval forces blockaded part of the Georgian coast and this was the first war in history in which cyber warfare coincided with military action. An active information war was waged during and after the conflict. President of France Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated an agreement on 12 August. Russian forces temporarily occupied the Georgian cities of Zugdidi, Senaki, Poti, the South Ossetians destroyed most ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia and were responsible for an ethnic cleansing of Georgians. Russia recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia as separate republics on 26 August, in response, Russia mostly completed its withdrawal of troops from Georgia proper on 8 October. In the aftermath, Russias international relations were largely unharmed, the war displaced 192,000 people and while many returned to their homes after the war,20,272 people remained displaced as of 2014. Russia has, since the war, occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia in violation of the agreement of August 2008. In the tenth century AD, Georgia for the first time emerged as a concept in the territories where the Georgian language was used to perform Christian rituals. After the Mongol invasions of the region, the Kingdom of Georgia eventually was broken up into several kingdoms, in the nineteenth century, the Russian Empire gradually annexed the Georgian lands

Russo-Georgian War
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Russian BMP-2 from the 58th Army in South Ossetia
Russo-Georgian War
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Location of Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and Russian North Caucasus
Russo-Georgian War
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Destroyed Georgian tank in Tskhinvali
Russo-Georgian War
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Georgian servicemen leaving South Ossetia (August 2008)

42.
Kommersant
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Kommersant is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. It is a leading liberal business broadsheet, the TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily was 120, 000-130,000. The newspaper was published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power. In 1989, with the onset of press freedom in Russia, Kommersant was re-established under the ownership of businessman and this is played up in the Kommersant logo, which features a script hard sign at the end of somewhat more formal font. In January 2005, Kommersant published blank pages as a protest at a ruling ordering it to publish a denial of a story about a crisis at Alfa-Bank. The sole article in the paper was one, published upside down. The headline of the article was Full Plaintiff which has little meaning, the English version of the article was headed Alfa-d Up. In August 2006, Patarkatsishvili sold his 100% stake in the Kommersant publishing house to Alisher Usmanov, after clashing with Usmanov, Kommersant editor-in-chief Vladislav Borodulin left the paper. Decision to resign was not forced, but evidently they expressed different views on how the house should be developed. On 9 December 2008 the publication of articles in English ceased, since February 2009 Kommersant newspaper is printed and distributed in the United Kingdom. In January 2000 Kommersant was found guilty of libel against Russian entrepreneur Alex Konanykhin, the court dismissed the judicial proceeding due to jurisdictional issues

Kommersant
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Front page on 27 December 2010

43.
Pretext
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A pretext is an excuse to do something or say something that is not accurate. Pretexts may be based on a half-truth or developed in the context of a misleading fabrication, pretexts have been used to conceal the true purpose or rationale behind actions and words. In US law, a pretext usually describes false reasons that hide the true intentions or motivations for a legal action, if a party can establish a prima facie case for the proffered evidence, the opposing party must prove that these reasons were pretextual or false. This can be accomplished by directly demonstrating that the motivations behind the presentation of evidence is false, in Griffith v. Schnitzer, an employment discrimination case, a jury award was reversed by a Court of Appeals because the evidence was not sufficient that the defendants reasons were pretextual. That is, the evidence was either undisputed, or the plaintiffs was irrelevant subjective assessments. A pretextual arrest by law enforcement officers is one carried out for illegal purposes such as to conduct an unjustified search, as one example of pretext, in the 1880s, the Chinese government raised money on the pretext of modernizing the Chinese navy. Instead, these funds were diverted to repair a ship-shaped, two-story pavilion which had originally constructed for the mother of the Qianlong Emperor. This pretext and the Marble Barge are famously linked with Empress Dowager Cixi and this architectural folly, known today as the Marble Boat, is moored on Lake Kunming in what the empress renamed the Garden for Cultivating Harmony. Another example of pretext was demonstrated in the speeches of the Roman orator Cato the Elder, for Cato, every public speech became a pretext for a comment about Carthage. The Roman statesman had come to believe that the prosperity of ancient Carthage represented an eventual, in the Senate, Cato famously ended every speech by proclaiming his opinion that Carthage had to be destroyed. This oft-repeated phrase was the conclusion of all logical argument in every oration. This pattern persisted until his death in 149, which was the year in which the Third Punic War began, in other words, any subject became a pretext for reminding his fellow senators of the dangers Carthage represented. The early years of Japans Tokugawa shogunate were unsettled, with warring factions battling for power, the causes for the fighting were in part pretextural, but the outcome brought diminished armed conflicts after the Siege of Osaka in 1614-1615. 1614, The Shogun vanquished Hideyori and set fire to Osaka Castle, october 18,1614, A strong earthquake shook Kyoto. The next two-and-a-half centuries of Japanese history were comparatively peaceful under the successors of Tokugawa Ieyasu, during the War of 1812, US President James Madison was often accused of using impressment of American sailors by the Royal Navy as a pretext to invade Canada. Some have argued that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces on December 7,1941 as a pretext to enter World War II, Roosevelt could not declare war for fear of public backlash. The attack on Pearl Harbor united the American peoples resolve against the Axis powers, a type of social engineering called pretexting uses a pretext to elicit information fraudulently from a target. The pretext in this case includes research into the identity of an authorized person or personality type in order to establish legitimacy in the mind of the target

44.
Roki Tunnel
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The Roki Tunnel is a mountain tunnel of the Transkam road through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka. It is the road joining North Ossetia–Alania in the Russian Federation into South Ossetia. The road is manned at the town of Nizhny Zaramag in North Ossetia and is referred to as the Roki-Nizhny Zaramag border crossing. The tunnel, completed by the Soviet authorities in 1984, is one of only a handful of routes that cross the North Caucasus Range. It is at about 2,000 meters altitude and its length is 3,730 meters, and near the Roki Pass at about 3,000 meters altitude, the tunnel has been important throughout the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. The South Ossetian authorities use tolls levied on tunnel traffic as one of their sources of revenue. When the Russian authorities blocked the Kazbegi-Verkhni Lars customs checkpoint between June 2006 and March 2010, the Roki Tunnel was the available road route from Russia to South Ossetia. The tunnel was used as a supply route for the Russian troops during the 2008 South Ossetia War. The tunnel was reconstructed due to damage caused by 2008 South Ossetia War, reconstruction took two and half years and was finished in October 2015. All costs of reconstruction were paid by Russian side, Georgian-Ossetian conflict 2008 South Ossetia War History of the tunnel

Roki Tunnel
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Map of Georgia showing Zemo Roka

45.
Airstrike
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An airstrike or air strike is an offensive operation carried out by attack aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft. The official definition includes all sorts of targets, including enemy air targets, weapons used in an airstrike can range from machine gun bullets and missiles to various types of bombs. It is also referred to as an air raid. In close air support, air strikes are controlled by trained observers for coordination with friendly ground troops in a manner derived from artillery tactics. On November 1,1911, Italian aviator Second Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti dropped four bombs on two Turkish-held oases in Libya, carrying out the worlds first air strike as part of the Italo-Turkish War, the use of air strikes was extended in World War I. For example, at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in 1915, however, it was not until World War II that the Oxford English Dictionary first records usage of the term air strike, which remained two separate words for some time thereafter. However, the climate played havoc with the Mosquitos wooden airframe. This period also marked the last combat deployment of British Spitfires, today, airstrike terminology has extended to the concept of the strike aircraft, what earlier generations of military aviators referred to as light bombers or attack aircraft. g. Airstrikes can be carried out for strategic purposes outside of general warfare, operation Opera was a single eight-ship Israeli airstrike against the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor, criticized by world opinion but not leading to a general outbreak of war. Such an example of the strike has created new questions for international law. Airstrike campaigns often cause the deaths of non-combatants, including civilians, international law apply the principles of military necessity, distinction, and proportionality. Aerial bombing of cities Aerial warfare Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Strategic bombing Time On Target

46.
Zugdidi
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Zugdidi is a city in the Western Georgian historical province of Samegrelo. It is situated in the north-west of that province, the city is located 318 kilometres west of Tbilisi,30 km from the Black Sea coast and 30 km from the Egrisi Range, at an elevation of 100–110 metres above sea level. Zugdidi is the capital of the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, which combines Samegrelo and upper part of Svaneti, the city serves as a residence of Metropolitan of Zugdidi and Tsaishi Eparchy of the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The name Zugdidi first appears in XVII century, literally it means big hill in Mingrelian language. An alternative version of the recorded in old sources is Zubdidi with same meaning from Megrelian. Local Georgian residents of historical provinces of Megrelia and Abkhazia also uses Zugidi, the name was given to the town because of a hill situated in the eastern part of the city, where the some small remains of an ancient fortress are still visible. Historically Zugdidi was a capital of the Principality of Mingrelia until 1867, after then Zugdidi was an administrative center of Zugdidi Uyezd as a part of the Kutaisi Governorate till 1918, when it became a part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. From 1930 the center of the Zugdidi Raion of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, between 17–19th centuries, Zugdidi was one of the important political and cultural center of Mingrelia and whole Georgia. A famous Georgian medieval epic poem The Knight in the Panthers Skin has been rewritten by Mamuka Tavakalashvili here at the court of Prince Levan II Dadiani in 1646, during the Crimean War Ottoman forces with Omar Pasha seized Zugdidi in 1855. At the end of the 1855 and beginning of 1856 city was liberated by Mingrelian Militia commanded by Major General Prince Grigol Dadiani, by the order of Iskender Pasha Ottomans plundered, burnt and destroyed the whole city, especially palaces and botanical garden. Many buildings were damaged during the Georgian Civil War 1992–1993 as well. In 1993, there were located administration of the first President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia, architectural sights of the city are the Queens palace and Nikos palace, as well as Cathedral of the Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God and Mantskhvar-kari church. Napoleon’s death mask is on display in the Dadiani Palace Museum in Zugdidi, other notable attractions are the old Botanical Garden and the city boulevard, planned by Prince Raphael Eristavi and the Cathedral of Iverian Theotokos. This theaters first performance, Molières Le médecin malgré lui, was staged on 11 April 1869 by Anton Purtseladze, the Drama Theater was founded in 1932. in 1959 the theater was named after the famous Georgian novelist and theatrical actor Shalva Dadiani. Zugdidi Botanical Garden was established in the 19th century by the Prince of Mingrelia David Dadiani and Queen Ekaterine, currently, the garden is a branch of Tbilisi Central Botanical Garden and is administered by the Georgian Academy of Sciences. Historically Zugdidi is known as a distinctly mono-ethnic city with a vast majority of Georgians, by the 2002 state census 98. 97% of its total population were ethnic Georgians. In the second half of the 1850s, due to the short Ottoman occupation, the 1950s-1970s were an important period for Zugdidis development, which affected the growth of population, while the last 20-year growth was mainly caused by refugee displacement. After the Russian-Georgian war in Abkhazia a large number of displaced peoples from Abkhazia were forced to move to Zugdidi

47.
Senaki
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Senaki is a town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, western Georgia. It is located at around 42°16′8″N 42°4′45″E, from 1935 to 1976 it was called Tskhakaya in honor of the Georgian Bolshevik revolutionary leader Mikhail Tskhakaya. The Second Brigade of the Georgian Army is stationed near Senaki, Senaki was the center of the Georgia military mutiny of 1998. The town was also the site of a battle during the 2008 South Ossetia war, one of the important landmarks of the town is the State Theater built in Baroque Revival style

Senaki
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Senaki State Theater

48.
Gori, Georgia
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Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora, that is, heap, Gori was an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages and maintains a strategic importance due to its location on the principal highway connecting eastern and western parts of Georgia. In the course of its history, Gori has been invaded by the armies of regional powers several times, the city was occupied by Russian troops during the 2008 Russia–Georgia war. Gori is also known as the birthplace of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, ballistic missile designer Alexander Nadiradze, Gori is located 86 kilometers west of Georgias capital Tbilisi, at the confluence of the rivers Mtkvari and Greater Liakhvi,588 meters above sea level. The climate is transitional from moderately warm steppe to moderately humid, the average annual temperature is 10.6 °C, minimal in January and maximal in July and August. The maximum precipitation falls in May and minimum in February, the territory of Gori has been populated since the early Bronze Age. According to medieval Georgian chronicles, the town of Gori was founded by King David IV who settled refugees from Armenia there. However, the fortress of Gori appears to have been in use already in the 7th century, in 1299, Gori was captured by the Alan tribesmen fleeing the Mongol conquest of their original homeland in the North Caucasus. The Georgian king George V recovered the town in 1320, pushing the Alans back over the Caucasus mountains and it was first taken and sacked by Uzun Hassan of the Ak Koyunlu in 1477, followed by Tahmasp I of Persia in the mid-16th century. The town was again garrisoned by the Persians under Shah Abbas I in 1614. Following the Russian annexation of Georgia, Gori was granted the status of a town within the Tiflis Governorate in 1801 and it grew in size and population throughout the 19th century but was destroyed in the 1920 earthquake. An important industrial center in Soviet times, Gori suffered from an economic collapse, Gori is close to the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone. It is connected to breakaway South Ossetias capital Tskhinvali via a spur which has been defunct since the early 1990s. Since the 2000s, Georgia has increased the military infrastructure in, thus, the Central Military Hospital was relocated from Tbilisi to Gori and re-equipped in October 2006. On January 18,2008, Georgia’s second NATO-standard base to accommodate the 1st Infantry Brigade of the Georgian Ground Forces was established at Gori, the Georgian Agrarian Science Academy Branch was established in the city in 1995, this became Sukhishvili University in 2003. Human Rights Watch claimed that Russian forces had indiscriminately deployed cluster bombs in areas around Gori. According to HRW, on August 12 Russian forces dropped bombs in the center of Gori, killing 11 civilians. Russian military officials deny using cluster munitions in the conflict, calling the HRW assertion slanderous, numerous unexploded bomblets have been found by locals and HRW employees

49.
Black Sea Fleet
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The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic command of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. Its ships are based in various harbors of the Black Sea and it is considered to have been founded by Prince Potemkin on May 13,1783, together with its principal base, the city of Sevastopol. Russia struggled for a time against its main rival in the region. The Black Sea Fleet defeated the Turks in 1790, and fought the Ottomans during World War I, the Romanians during World War II, the division of the fleet in 1997 became the basis of the Ukrainian Navy. The Black Sea Fleet is considered to have founded by Prince Potemkin on May 13,1783, together with its principal base. Formerly commanded by such legendary admirals as Dmitriy Senyavin and Pavel Nakhimov, in 1790, Russian naval forces under the command of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov defeated the Turkish fleet at the Battle of Kerch Strait. From 1841 onward, the fleet was confined to the Black Sea by the London Straits Convention, the crew of the battleship Potemkin revolted in 1905 soon after the Navys defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. Lenin wrote that the Potemkin uprising had had an importance in terms of being the first attempt at creating the nucleus of a revolutionary army. During World War I, there were a number of encounters between the Russian and Ottoman navies in the Black Sea, german submarines of the Constantinople Flotilla and Turkish light forces would continue to raid and harass Russian shipping until the wars end. During the Russian Civil War, the vast majority of the Black Sea Fleet was scuttled by Bolsheviks in Novorossiysk, most of the ships became part of the Russian Squadron of Wrangls armed forces and after the evacuation sailed to Tunisia. Out of those ships, some were passed to the French Navy, few ships that did stay in Black Sea were salvaged in the 1920s, while a large scale new construction programme began in the 1930s. Over 500 new ships were built during that period as well as expansion of coastal infrastructure took place. The Fleet was commanded by Vice Admiral F. S, oktyabrskiy on the outbreak of war with Germany in June 1941. The Fleet gave an account of itself as it fought alongside the Red Army during the Siege of Odessa. In 1952, Turkey decided to join NATO, placing the Bosporus Strait in the Western sphere of influence, together with the advent of long-range nuclear weapons, this dramatically decreased the strategic value of any naval activity in the Black Sea.11.94. 124th Maritime Missile Aviation Regiment - disbanded 1993, 943rd Maritime Missile Aviation Regiment - disbanded 1996. The military importance of the fleet has degraded since the collapse of the Soviet Union, due to significant funding cuts and, to a degree, the loss of its major missions. In 1992, the part of the personnel, armaments

50.
Likhi Range
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Likhi Range or Surami Range is a mountain range in Georgia, a part of the Caucasus mountains. It connects the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus ranges, the highest point is 1,926 m above sea level. The lowest and most important mountain pass is the Surami Pass at an elevation of 949 m which links eastern and western Georgia, a railroad runs through the pass, as well as the Zestaponi-Khashuri highway. A southern portion of the Likhi range was known as Ghado

Likhi Range
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A landscape of the Likhi range

51.
Caucasian Iberia
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Iberia, centered on present-day Eastern Georgia, was bordered by Colchis in the west, Caucasian Albania in the east and Armenia in the south. Its population, known as the Iberians, formed the nucleus of the Georgians, Iberia, ruled by Pharnavazid, Arsacid and Chosroid royal dynasties, together with Colchis to its west, would form the nucleus of the unified medieval Kingdom of Georgia under Bagrationi dynasty. In the 4th century, after Christianization of Iberia by Saint Nino during the reign of King Mirian III Christiantity was made the religion of the kingdom. Starting in the early 6th century AD, the position as a Sassanian vassal state was changed into effectively direct Persian rule. In 580, king Hormizd IV abolished the monarchy after the death of King Bakur III, the term Caucasian Iberia is also being used to distinguish it from the Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe. The provenance of the name Iberia is unclear, the letter s in this instance served as a prefix for the root word Ver. Accordingly, in following Ivane Javakhishvilis theory, the designation of Sber, a variant of Sver, was derived from the word Hber. According to another theory, it is derived from a Colchian word, Imer, meaning country on the side of the mountain, that is of the Likhi Range. In earliest times, the area of Caucasian Iberia was inhabited by several related tribes stemming from the Kura-Araxes culture, collectively called Iberians in Greco-Roman ethnography. The Moschi, mentioned by various historians, and their possible descendants. The Moschi had moved slowly to the northeast forming settlements as they traveled, one of these was Mtskheta, the future capital of the Kingdom of Iberia. The Mtskheta tribe was ruled by a prince locally known as mamasakhlisi. The written sources for the periods of Iberias history are mostly medieval Georgian chronicles. Pharnavaz, victorious in a struggle, became the first king of Iberia. His successors managed to control over the mountainous passes of the Caucasus with the Daryal being the most important of them. The period following this time of prosperity was one of incessant warfare as Iberia was forced to defend against numerous invasions into its territories. Some southern parts of Iberia, that were conquered from Kingdom of Armenia, in the 2nd century BC were reunited to Armenia, nineteen years later, the Romans again marched on Iberia forcing King Pharnavaz II to join their campaign against Albania. While another Georgian kingdom of Colchis was administered as a Roman province, a stone inscription discovered at Mtskheta speaks of the 1st-century ruler Mihdrat I as the friend of the Caesars and the king of the Roman-loving Iberians

52.
Russian military
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The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military service of the Russian Federation, established after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is the President of Russia, the Russian Armed Forces were formed in 1992. These are not normally included as branches of the Armed Forces but are used in armed conflicts. The number of personnel is specified by decree of the President of Russia, on 1 January 2008, a number of 2,019,629 units, including military of 1,134,800 units, was set. In 2010 the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated that the Russian Armed Forces numbered about 1,027,000 active troops and in the region of 2,035,000 reserves. As opposed to personnel specified by decree, actual personnel in the forces are paid was reported by the Audit Chamber of Russia as 766,000 in October 2013, as of December 2016, the armed forces are at 93 percent of the required manpower. According to SIPRI, Russia spent $66.4 billion on arms in 2015, between the years 2005-2009 and 2010-2014, Russian exports of major weapons increased by 37 percent according to SIPRI. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, share of weapons in the Armed Forces reached from 26 to 48% among different kinds of troops in December 2014. This was raised to 30. 5–70. 7% as of July 2015, average was 48 per cent over the first half of 2016. The Soviet Union officially dissolved on 31 December 1991, leaving the Soviet military in limbo, for the next year and a half various attempts to keep its unity and to transform it into the military of the Commonwealth of Independent States failed. Until 1995, it was planned to form at least 11 brigades numbering 3,000 to 5,000 each, National Guard military units were to be deployed in 10 regions, including in Moscow, Leningrad, and a number of other important cities and regions. By the end of September 1991 in Moscow the National Guard was about 15,000 strong, in the end, President Yeltsin tabled a decree On the temporary position of the Russian Guard, but it was not put into practice. On 14 February 1992 Shaposhnikov formally became Supreme Commander of the CIS Armed Forces, finally, on 7 May 1992 Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the armed forces and Yeltsin assumed the duties of the Supreme Commander. In May 1992 General Colonel Pavel Grachev became the Minister of Defence, by August or December 1993 CIS military structures had become CIS military cooperation structures with all real influence lost. In the next few years, Russian forces withdrew from central and eastern Europe, the Armed Forces have several bases in foreign countries, especially on territory of the former Soviet Republics. A new military doctrine, promulgated in November 1993, implicitly acknowledged the contraction of the old Soviet military into a military power without global ambitions. Such change proved extremely difficult to achieve, under Pavel Grachev little military reform took place, though there was a plan to create more deployable mobile forces. Later Defence Minister Rodionov had good qualifications but did not manage to institute lasting change, only under Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev did a certain amount of limited reform begin, though attention focused upon the Strategic Rocket Forces

Russian military
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A T-14 a new generation tank of the Russian Ground Forces
Russian military
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Banner of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Russian military
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Russian soldiers with Pecheneg machine gun in 2014.
Russian military
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2013 Victory Day Parade in Moscow

53.
2008 South Ossetia war
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The Russo-Georgian War was a war between Georgia, Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The war took place in August 2008 following a period of worsening relations between Russia and Georgia, both constituent republics of the Soviet Union. The fighting took place in the strategically important Transcaucasia region, which borders the Middle East and it was regarded as the first European war of the 21st century. The Republic of Georgia declared its independence in early 1991 as the Soviet Union began to fall apart, following the war, a joint peacekeeping force of Georgian, Russian, and Ossetian troops was stationed in the territory. Meanwhile, a stalemate developed in the region of Abkhazia. By August 1,2008, Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages, to put an end to these deadly attacks and restore order, the Georgian Army was sent to the South Ossetian conflict zone on 7 August. Georgians took control of most of Tskhinvali, a separatist stronghold, Georgia later stated it was also responding to Russia moving non-peacekeeping units into the country. Russia accused Georgia of aggression against South Ossetia, and launched a land, air. Russian and Ossetian forces battled Georgian forces in and around South Ossetia for several days, Russian and Abkhaz forces opened a second front by attacking the Kodori Gorge held by Georgia. Russian naval forces blockaded part of the Georgian coast and this was the first war in history in which cyber warfare coincided with military action. An active information war was waged during and after the conflict. President of France Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated an agreement on 12 August. Russian forces temporarily occupied the Georgian cities of Zugdidi, Senaki, Poti, the South Ossetians destroyed most ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia and were responsible for an ethnic cleansing of Georgians. Russia recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia as separate republics on 26 August, in response, Russia mostly completed its withdrawal of troops from Georgia proper on 8 October. In the aftermath, Russias international relations were largely unharmed, the war displaced 192,000 people and while many returned to their homes after the war,20,272 people remained displaced as of 2014. Russia has, since the war, occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia in violation of the agreement of August 2008. In the tenth century AD, Georgia for the first time emerged as a concept in the territories where the Georgian language was used to perform Christian rituals. After the Mongol invasions of the region, the Kingdom of Georgia eventually was broken up into several kingdoms, in the nineteenth century, the Russian Empire gradually annexed the Georgian lands

2008 South Ossetia war
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Russian BMP-2 from the 58th Army in South Ossetia
2008 South Ossetia war
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Location of Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and Russian North Caucasus
2008 South Ossetia war
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Destroyed Georgian tank in Tskhinvali
2008 South Ossetia war
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Georgian servicemen leaving South Ossetia (August 2008)

54.
Volcanic
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A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. Earths volcanoes occur because its crust is broken into 17 major, therefore, on Earth, volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging. This type of volcanism falls under the umbrella of plate hypothesis volcanism, Volcanism away from plate boundaries has also been explained as mantle plumes. These so-called hotspots, for example Hawaii, are postulated to arise from upwelling diapirs with magma from the boundary,3,000 km deep in the Earth. Volcanoes are usually not created where two plates slide past one another. Erupting volcanoes can pose hazards, not only in the immediate vicinity of the eruption. Historically, so-called volcanic winters have caused catastrophic famines, the word volcano is derived from the name of Vulcano, a volcanic island in the Aeolian Islands of Italy whose name in turn comes from Vulcan, the god of fire in Roman mythology. The study of volcanoes is called volcanology, sometimes spelled vulcanology, at the mid-oceanic ridges, two tectonic plates diverge from one another as new oceanic crust is formed by the cooling and solidifying of hot molten rock. Most divergent plate boundaries are at the bottom of the oceans, therefore, most volcanic activity is submarine, black smokers are evidence of this kind of volcanic activity. Where the mid-oceanic ridge is above sea-level, volcanic islands are formed, for example, subduction zones are places where two plates, usually an oceanic plate and a continental plate, collide. In this case, the plate subducts, or submerges under the continental plate forming a deep ocean trench just offshore. In a process called flux melting, water released from the subducting plate lowers the temperature of the overlying mantle wedge. This magma tends to be very viscous due to its high content, so it often does not reach the surface. When it does reach the surface, a volcano is formed, typical examples of this kind of volcano are Mount Etna and the volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Because tectonic plates move across them, each volcano becomes dormant and is eventually re-formed as the plate advances over the postulated plume and this theory is currently under criticism, however. The most common perception of a volcano is of a mountain, spewing lava and poisonous gases from a crater at its summit, however. The features of volcanoes are more complicated and their structure. Some volcanoes have rugged peaks formed by lava domes rather than a summit crater while others have features such as massive plateaus

55.
Glaciers of Georgia
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The glaciers of Georgia are mainly located along the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range. Main centers of glaciation are related to the elevated Greater Caucasus watershed range, individual centers can be found in the Greater Caucasus branch ranges, Bzipi, Kodori, Samegrelo, Svaneti, Lechkhumi, Pirikita, etc. According to the data of 2015 there are 637 glaciers in Georgia with an area of 355.80 km2. Contemporary glaciers are mainly concentrated in the Enguri, Rioni, Kodori and Tergi River basins,89. 32% of the amount and 97. 15% of the area of glaciers of Georgia are located in these basins. Contemporary glaciers are unevenly distributed between the different river basins, as for the basins of the rivers of Arghuni, Asa, Aragvi and Kelasuri, their joint share is 1. 72% of the total number of the glaciers of Georgia. As for the basins of the rivers of Liakhvi, Asa, Khobistskali, Arghuni, Aragvi and Kelasuri, great Georgian scientist Vakhushti Bagrationi gives the first scientific information on the glaciers of Georgia in the beginning of the 18th century. After almost hundred years the foreign scientists began to describe the glaciers of Georgia, information about the glaciers of Georgia can be found in the works of G. Abikh, G. Radde, N. Dinik, I. This information is related to the glaciers and mostly is of descriptive nature. However, their findings greatly assist us in determining the dynamics of the individual glaciers, in the years of 1880-1910 the topographical surveying of the Greater Caucasus was carried out. On the basis of the created maps K. I, podozerskiy compiled the first detailed catalogue of the glaciers, which still has not lost its importance, but it must be mentioned, that the errors were made during its compilation. A. L. Reinhardt noted these errors further, who compiled the new catalogue for many glacial basins of the investigated region, the research conducted by A. Reinhardt is of high quality and more reliable by its scientific value in comparison with its previous researchers. Interesting researches were conducted by F. Rutkovskaia in connection with the 2nd International Polar Year, in 1932-1933 the glaciations of the Enguri River was studied and the dynamics of the individual glaciers were identified. In 1959 P. A. Ivankov gave us the number and area of glaciers of the study area based on the new topographic maps. In the same year P. Kovalev described in details the glaciers, much work has been conducted by D. Tsereteli for the study of the glaciers of Georgia, who in 1937 together with Al. Aslanikashvili surveyed several glaciers and in 1963 gave us the dynamics of the glaciers during the period of 1937-1960 and it should be also noted the many years research of various glaciers in the major river basins by R. Gobejishvili. It can be considered his honor that after the 1990s the glaciological studies have not been stopped in Georgia. T. Kikalishvili, G. Kurdghelaidze, D. Tabidze, R. Khazaradze, O. Nikolaishvili, V. Tsomaia, O. Drobishevi, R. Shengelia, R. Gobejishvili, K. Mgeladze, T. Lashkhi, Sh. Inashvili, N. Golodovskaia, L. Serebryannii, A. Orlov, O. Nadirashvili, N. Zakarashvili, A. Rekhviashvili, O. Samadbegishvili, glacial-geomorphological works were being carried out from 1968

56.
Black Sea
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The Black Sea is a body of water between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. It is supplied by a number of rivers, such as the Danube, Dnieper, Rioni, Southern Bug. The Black Sea has an area of 436,400 km2, a depth of 2,212 m. It is constrained by the Pontic Mountains to the south and by the Caucasus Mountains to the east, the longest east-west extent is about 1,175 km. The Black Sea has a water balance, that is, a net outflow of water 300 km3 per year through the Bosphorus. Mediterranean water flows into the Black Sea as part of a two-way hydrological exchange, the Black Sea drains into the Mediterranean Sea and then the Atlantic Ocean, via the Aegean Sea and various straits. The Bosphorus Strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and these waters separate Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The Black Sea is also connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch, the water level has varied significantly. Due to these variations in the level in the basin. At certain critical water levels it is possible for connections with surrounding water bodies to become established and it is through the most active of these connective routes, the Turkish Straits, that the Black Sea joins the world ocean. When this hydrological link is not present, the Black Sea is a basin, operating independently of the global ocean system. Currently the Black Sea water level is high, thus water is being exchanged with the Mediterranean. The Turkish Straits connect the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea, and comprise the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Black Sea as follows, On the Southwest. The Northeastern limit of the Sea of Marmara, a line joining Cape Takil and Cape Panaghia. Strabos Geographica reports that in antiquity, the Black Sea was often just called the Sea, for the most part, Graeco-Roman tradition refers to the Black Sea as the Hospitable sea, Εὔξεινος Πόντος Eúxeinos Póntos. This is a euphemism replacing an earlier Inhospitable Sea, Πόντος Ἄξεινος Póntos Áxeinos, strabo thinks that the Black Sea was called inhospitable before Greek colonization because it was difficult to navigate, and because its shores were inhabited by savage tribes. The name was changed to hospitable after the Milesians had colonized the southern shoreline and it is also possible that the epithet Áxeinos arose by popular etymology from a Scythian word axšaina- unlit, dark, the designation Black Sea may thus date from antiquity. A map of Asia dating to 1570, entitled Asiae Nova Descriptio, from Abraham Orteliuss Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, english-language writers of the 18th century often used the name Euxine Sea to refer to the Black Sea

57.
Drainage basin
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A drainage basin or catchment area is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at elevations in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins. Other terms used to describe drainage basins are catchment, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin and water basin. In closed drainage basins the water converges to a point inside the basin, known as a sink, which may be a permanent lake. The drainage basin acts as a funnel by collecting all the water within the covered by the basin. Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a perimeter, drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units, which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system. Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks, in a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins. Drainage basins of the oceans and seas of the world. Grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to the oceans, the following is a list of the major ocean basins, About 48. 7% of the worlds land drains to the Atlantic Ocean. The two major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic, The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U. S. The Mediterranean Sea basin includes much of North Africa, east-central Africa, Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the areas of Israel, Lebanon. Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Oceans drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earths land. It drains the eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Burma, antarctica comprises approximately eight percent of the Earths land. The five largest river basins, from largest to smallest, are the basins of the Amazon, the Río de la Plata, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi. The three rivers that drain the most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganga, endorheic drainage basins are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Around 18% of all land drains to endorheic lakes or seas or sinks, the largest of these consists of much of the interior of Asia, which drains into the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and numerous smaller lakes. Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, in endorheic bodies of standing water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example of this is the Dead Sea, drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important

58.
Mediterranean climate
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A Mediterranean climate /ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən/ or dry summer climate, is the climate typical of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin. The Mediterranean climate is characterised by dry summers and mild, moist winters, the Azores High is associated with the Mediterranean climate found in southern Europe and north Africa and the Sahara Desert with France and England both bordering this climate, France especially. The South Atlantic High is similarly associated with the Namib Desert, under the Köppen climate classification, hot dry-summer climates and cool dry-summer climates are often referred to as mediterranean. Under the Köppen climate system, the first letter indicates the climate group, temperate climates or C zones have an average temperature above 0 °C, but below 18 °C, in their coolest months. The second letter indicates the precipitation pattern, Köppen has defined a dry summer month as a month with less than 30 mm of precipitation and with less than one-third that of the wettest winter month. Some, however, use a 40 mm level, the third letter indicates the degree of summer heat, a represents an average temperature in the warmest month above 22 °C, while b indicates the average temperature in the warmest month below 22 °C. Under the Köppen classification, dry-summer climates usually occur on the sides of continents. Under Trewarthas system, at least eight months must have average temperatures of 10 °C or higher, during summer, regions of mediterranean climate are dominated by subtropical high pressure cells, with dry sinking air capping a surface marine layer of varying humidity and making rainfall unlikely. In many Mediterranean climates there is a strong character to daily temperatures in the warm months. The majority of the regions with mediterranean climates have relatively mild winters, however winter and summer temperatures can vary greatly between different regions with a mediterranean climate. Or to consider summer, Athens experiences rather high temperatures in that season, in contrast, San Francisco has cool summers with daily highs around. In North America, areas with Csc climate can be found in the Olympic, Cascade, Klamath and these locations are found at high altitude nearby lower altitude regions characterized by a warm-summer mediterranean climate or hot-summer mediterranean climate. A rare instance of this occurs in the tropics, on Haleakalā Summit in Hawaii. In South America, Csc regions can be found along the Andes in Chile, the town of Balmaceda is one of the few towns confirmed to have this climate. Small areas with a Csc climate can also be found at elevations in Corsica. Mediterranean climate Explanation of Mediterranean Climate

59.
Continental climate
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In the Köppen climate system, Continental climates were bordered to the south by Temperate climates or C climates and to the north by Boreal climate or E climates. Köppen also defined continental climates as having more than 30 days with continuous snowcover on the ground, Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature. They tend to occur in the latitudes, where prevailing winds come from over land. Continental climates occur mostly in the Northern Hemisphere which has the large landmasses required for this type of climate to develop, most of northern and northeastern China, eastern and southeastern Europe, and the central and upper eastern United States have this type of climate. In Continental climates, Precipitation tends to be moderate in amount, a portion of the annual precipitation falls as snowfall, and snow often remains on the ground for more than a month. Summers in continental climates can feature thunderstorms and frequent cool temperatures, the timing of intermediate spring-like or autumn-like temperatures in this zone vary depending on latitude and/or elevation. For example, spring may arrive as soon as early March in the parts of this zone. Annual precipitation in this zone is usually between 600 millimetres and 1,200 millimetres, most of it in the form of snow during winter and it also has cold winters and warm summers. Most such areas fit Köppen classifications of Dfa, Dwa or Dfb or Dwb, dry summer continental climates exist in high altitude areas near Mediterranean climates. In some cases, the climate classification of BSk can also be considered to be continental as long it has cold winter. Some climatologists use the 0 °C isotherm instead for the coldest month, Continental climates exist where cold air masses infiltrate during the winter and warm air masses form in summer under conditions of high sun and long days. Places with continental climates are as a rule either far from any moderating effects of oceans or are so situated that prevailing winds tend to head offshore. Such regions get quite warm in the summer, achieving temperatures characteristic of tropical climates but are colder than any other climates of similar latitude in the winter. These climates grade off toward subtropical climates equator-ward where winters are less severe, in Europe these climates may grade off into oceanic climates in which the influence of moderating air masses is more marked toward the west. The subarctic climate, with cold, long and dry winters. Canada, Throughout much of southern Canada from the Rocky Mountains to Atlantic Canada, major cities, Whistler, Prince George, Kamloops, Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste

60.
NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved

NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949 and was ratified by the United States that August.
NATO
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Flag
NATO
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The German Bundeswehr provided the largest element of the allied land forces guarding the frontier in Central Europe.
NATO
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Reforms made under Mikhail Gorbachev led to the end of the Warsaw Pact.

61.
European Council
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The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in its meetings. Established as a summit in 1975, the European Council was formalised as an institution in 2009 upon the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. Its current President is Donald Tusk, while the European Council has no formal legislative power, it is a strategic body that provides the union with general political directions and priorities, and acts as a collective presidency. The European Commission remains the sole initiator of legislation, but the European Council is able to provide an impetus to guide legislative policy, decisions of the European Council are taken by consensus, except where the Treaties provide otherwise. The European Council officially gained the status of an EU institution after Lisbon treaty in 2000, before that, the first summits of EU heads of state or government were held in February and July 1961. The summits were only formalised in the period between 1974 and 1988, the inaugural European Council, as it became known, was held in Dublin on 10 and 11 March 1975 during Irelands first Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In 1987, it was included in the treaties for the first time and had a role for the first time in the Maastricht Treaty. At first only a minimum of two meetings per year were required, which resulted in an average of three meetings per year being held for the 1975-1995 period, since 1996, the number of meetings were required to be minimum four per year. For the latest 2008-2014 period, this minimum was well exceeded, the seat of the Council was formalised in 2002, basing it in Brussels. Three types of European Councils exist, Informal, Scheduled and Extraordinary, some meetings of the European Council are seen by some as turning points in the history of the European Union. For example,1969, The Hague, Foreign policy and enlargement,1974, Paris, Creation of the Council. 1985, Milan, Initiate IGC leading to the Single European Act,1991, Maastricht, Agreement on the Maastricht Treaty. 1992, Edinburgh, Agreement to retain at Strasbourg the plenary seat of the European Parliament,1993, Copenhagen, Leading to the definition of the Copenhagen Criteria. 1997, Amsterdam, Agreement on the Amsterdam Treaty,1998, Brussels, Selected member states to adopt the euro. 1999, Cologne, Declaration on military forces,1999, Tampere, Institutional reform 2000, Lisbon, Lisbon Strategy 2002, Copenhagen, Agreement for May 2004 enlargement. 2007, Lisbon, Agreement on the Lisbon Treaty,2009, Brussels, Appointment of first president and merged High Representative. The Treaty of Lisbon made the European Council a formal institution distinct from the Council of the EU, as an outgrowth of the Council of the EU, the European Council had previously followed the same Presidency, rotating between each member state. Following the ratification of the treaty in December 2009, the European Council elected the then-Prime Minister of Belgium Herman Van Rompuy as its first permanent president

European Council
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A traditional group photo, here taken at the royal palace in Brussels during Belgium's 1987 Presidency
European Council
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Emblem
European Council
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The European Council at the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007
European Council
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The European Council meeting in Brussels in March 2011

62.
Richard Holbrooke
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Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke was an American diplomat, magazine editor, author, professor, Peace Corps official, and investment banker. He was the person to have held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for two different regions of the world. From 1993 to 1994, he was U. S. Ambassador to Germany, Holbrooke was a leading contender to succeed the retiring Warren Christopher as Secretary of State but was passed over in 1996 as President Bill Clinton chose Madeleine Albright instead. From 1999 to 2001, Holbrooke served as U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations and he was an adviser to the Presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry in 2004. Holbrooke then joined the Presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Clinton and became a top policy adviser. Holbrooke was considered a candidate for Secretary of State had Kerry or Hillary Clinton been elected President. In January 2009, Holbrooke was appointed as an adviser on Pakistan and Afghanistan, working under President Barack Obama. He served until he died from complications of a dissection on December 13,2010. Several considered Holbrookes role in the Dayton Accords to merit the Nobel Peace Prize, Holbrooke was born on April 24,1941, in New York City, to Dan Holbrooke, a doctor, and Trudi Kearl, a potter, brother, Andrew, survives him. Holbrookes mother, whose Jewish family fled Hamburg in 1933 for Buenos Aires before coming to New York and she stated, “I was an atheist, his father was an atheist. We never thought of giving Richard a Jewish upbringing, holbrooke’s father, who died of cancer when Richard was 15 years old, was born of Polish Jewish parents in Warsaw and took the name Holbrooke after migrating to the United States in 1939. The original family name was Goldbrajch, after Scarsdale High School, Holbrooke earned a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University in 1962, attending on a full-tuition scholarship. He was later a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, in 1962, Holbrooke graduated from Brown University, where he was inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s call to service to enter government work. A few weeks after graduation, Holbrooke entered the Foreign Service. A year later, after Vietnamese language training, he began six years of service in and he served first in the Mekong Delta, as a civilian representative for the Agency for International Development working on the rural Pacification Program. This involved supporting the South Vietnam government with economic development and enacting local political reforms, Holbrooke then moved to the US Embassy, Saigon where he became a staff assistant to Ambassadors Maxwell Taylor and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. As a rising young diplomat with significant experience in the country, following his time in the White House, Holbrooke served as a special assistant to Under Secretaries of State Nicholas Katzenbach and Elliot Richardson. He also drafted a volume of the now famous Pentagon Papers, following these assignments, Holbrooke spent a year as a mid-career fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University

Richard Holbrooke
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Richard Holbrooke
Richard Holbrooke
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Holbrooke and Carl Bildt before peace talks in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina in October 1995.
Richard Holbrooke
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Holbrooke in Herat, Afghanistan, in August 2009 to be briefed by leaders of the coalition forces on the overall security of western Afghanistan.
Richard Holbrooke
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Holbrooke in 2008

63.
European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum

European Union
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In 1989, the Iron Curtain fell, enabling the union to expand further (Berlin Wall pictured).
European Union
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Flag
European Union
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2009, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force.
European Union
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The 65,993 km (41,006 mi) coastline dominates the European climate (Cyprus).

64.
People of South Ossetia for Peace
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Along with the other former members of the secessionist government, Sanakoev formed an opposition movement to Kokoity and his separatist agenda. The organization was founded on October 24,2006 by Dmitri Sanakoev, Maia Chigoeva-Tsaboshvili, Giogi Chigoev, Teimuraz Jeragoev, Jemal Karkusov, Vladimir Sanakoev. The main aim of the organization was to put an end to Kokoity regime in Tskhinvali which maintains its pro-Russian, soon after the secessionist authorities declared they would hold elections together with a referendum on November 12,2006. The People of South Ossetia for Peace decided to conduct alternative elections where Georgians and Ossetians alike could participate as equal voters. The Inauguration of Sanakoev as alternative President of South Ossetia took place on December 1,2006, in the village of Kurta, soon after inauguration, Sanakoev formed his government appointing Uruzmag Karkusov as Prime Minister, Jemal Karkusov as Interior Minister and Maia Chigoeva-Tsaboshvili as Foreign Minister. The secessionist regime in Tskhinvali has outlawed the organization, several attacks on the houses of its members have also been reported. Officially, the Government of Georgia doesn’t recognize either authority, but has expressed the desire to cooperate with Sanakoev’s administration regarding the future of the region, Georgia, South Ossetias Ethnic Georgians Launch Counter-Vote Two Referendums and Two “Presidents” in South Ossetia

65.
President of Georgia
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The President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief, and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government, the office was first introduced by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on 14 April 1991, five days after Georgias declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. The President serves a five-year term, the incumbent is Giorgi Margvelashvili, who was sworn in on 17 November 2013. The President of Georgia is Head of State, the President is a guarantor of national independence and unity of the country. He/she ensures the functioning of state bodies in accordance with the Constitution, the President is the representative of Georgia in foreign relations. The President of Georgia is elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot, the President may not be elected for more than two consecutive terms. Appoints and dismisses military commanders in agreement with the government, the president of Georgia issue decrees, edicts, and ordinances, also orders as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Georgia, to exercise constitutional powers. The President of Georgia also exercises other powers defined in the Constitution, legal acts of the president require countersignature from the Prime Minister. Any legal act of the President that requires countersigning shall be promulgated, in the case of countersignature, the responsibility for legal acts shall rest with the Government. During his/her period in office, he/she may not be arrested, in the event that the President violates the Constitution, betrays the state or commits other crimes, Parliament may remove him/her from office with the approval of the Constitutional Court. Security of the President of Georgia is provided by the Special State Protection Service, copies of the standard are used inside the Presidents office, at the Chancellery Building, other state agencies, and as a car flag on vehicles bearing the President within Georgian territory. In the nationwide elections to this post, on 26 May 1991, Gamsakhurdia won a landslide victory, Gamsakhurdia was ousted in a military coup détat in January 1992. He continued to function as a president-in-exile until his death in a attempt to regain power in December 1993. In the post-coup absence of power, a position of the Head of State was introduced for Georgias new leader Eduard Shevardnadze on 10 March 1992. After the adoption of a new Constitution on 24 August 1995, Shevardnadze was elected to presidency on 5 November 1995, and reelected on 9 April 2000. He resigned under pressure of mass known as Rose Revolution on 23 November 2003. After Nino Burjanadzes brief tenure as an Acting President, Mikheil Saakashvili was elected on 4 January 2004 and he was reelected on 5 January 2008. For leaders before independence, see List of leaders of Georgia Presidential Administration of Georgia Official Site of the President of Georgia

66.
Zurab Noghaideli
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Zurab Noghaideli is a Georgian businessman and a politician who served as the Prime Minister of Georgia from February 2005 until he resigned, citing health problems, on 16 November 2007. In December 2008, Noghaideli withdrew into opposition, setting up the Movement for Fair Georgia party, born in Kobuleti, Ajaria, Georgia, Noghaideli graduated from the Moscow State University with a diploma in Physics in 1988. Before entering into politics, he worked for the Institute of Geography of the Georgian Academy of Sciences between 1988-1992. In 1989-1990, he was trained at the Institute of Geology of the Academy of Sciences of Estonia. He started his career together with his friend, Zurab Zhvania. He was again member of the successor Parliaments in 1995-1999 and 1999–2000 and he joined the government of Eduard Shevardnadze in the capacity of Minister of Finance in May 2000. During these years, he was considered a member of a team of young reformists headed by Zurab Zhvania and Mikheil Saakashvili. In 2001, he left the President-run Union of Citizens of Georgia party which he had joined in 1995 and he was sacked, in 2002, without explanation, though it appears that he had intended to resign in protest against the policies of Shevardnadze’s increasingly corrupted government. In a brief period of 2002-2003, he was involved in banking, after Shevardnadze was ousted in the Rose Revolution of 21–23 November 2003, Noghaideli returned to government as the economic adviser to the acting president, Nino Burjanadze. He was re-appointed to his old post as Minister of Finance in February 2004 in the government of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, president Mikhail Saakashvili nominated Noghaideli for the post of Prime Minister on 11 February 2005 following the untimely death of Zhvania. He was confirmed by the Georgian Parliament on 17 February 2005 by a vote of 175 to 24, Noghaideli is not a member of any party and is regarded as a technocrat with a tough approach to the corruption that plagues Georgias economy. According to Financial weekly Georgian newspaper The World Bank Group and the U. S, agency for International Development has honored Zurab Nogaideli, Prime Minister of Georgia, as top business environment reformer of the year 2007. The Prime Minister has led reforms which have catapulted Georgia from a ranking of 112 to 37th place in the World Bank Group’s 2007 global rankings on the ease of doing business. Noghaideli is married and has one child, Noghaideli announced his resignation on 16 November 2007 due to his poor health condition. In April 2007, Noghaideli underwent elective open-heart surgery at St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital in Houston, the operation, led by leading US surgeon Dr. Charles Frazier, lasted for 8 hours and involved transplanting one mitral valve of the PMs heart. After his resignation, Noghaideli said he would retire from politics, since June 2008, he has also been a chairman of the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University Business Council. After the Russian-Georgian war, in September 2008, Noghaideli appeared in the Georgian press, unleashing heavy criticism of foreign, on 3 December 2008, he set up a new opposition party, the Movement for Fair Georgia. In 2009, Noghaideli traveled several times in Russia, meeting top Russian officials, in December 2009, he also met Eduard Kokoity, the breakaway South Ossetian leader, ostensibly to help release of the Georgian teenagers detained by the South Ossetian milita

67.
North Caucasus Federal District
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North Caucasian Federal District is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. It is located in the extreme southwest of Russia, in the area of the North Caucasus. The federal district was split from Southern Federal District on January 19,2010, the population of the federal subjects comprising the federal district was 9,428,826 according to the 2010 Census, living in an area of 170,400 square kilometers. The current Envoy is Oleg Belaventsev, a diverse assortment of mostly Muslim ethnic and tribal groups form the remainder, and the North Caucasus Federal District is Russias only Muslim-majority district

North Caucasus Federal District
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Location of the North Caucasian Federal District

68.
Associated Press
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The Associated Press is an American multinational nonprofit news agency headquartered in New York City that operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. The AP is owned by its contributing newspapers and radio and television stations in the United States, all of which stories to the AP. Most of the AP staff are members and are represented by the Newspaper Guild, which operates under the Communications Workers of America. As of 2007, news collected by the AP was published and republished by more than 1,700 newspapers, in addition to more than 5,000 television, the photograph library of the AP consists of over 10 million images. The AP operates 243 news bureaus in 120 countries and it also operates the AP Radio Network, which provides newscasts twice hourly for broadcast and satellite radio and television stations. Many newspapers and broadcasters outside the United States are AP subscribers, as part of their cooperative agreement with the AP, most member news organizations grant automatic permission for the AP to distribute their local news reports. The AP employs the inverted pyramid formula for writing that enables the news outlets to edit a story to fit its available publication area without losing the storys essentials. Cutbacks at rival United Press International in 1993 left the AP as the United States primary news service, although UPI still produces and distributes stories and photos daily. Other English-language news services, such as the BBC, Reuters, some historians believe that the Tribune joined at this time, documents show it was a member in 1849. The New York Times became a member shortly after its founding in September 1851, initially known as the New York Associated Press, the organization faced competition from the Western Associated Press, which criticized its monopolistic news gathering and price setting practices. The revelations led to the demise of the NYAP and in December 1892, when the AP was founded, news became a salable commodity. The invention of the press allowed the New York Tribune in the 1870s to print 18,000 papers per hour. During the Civil War and Spanish–American War, there was a new incentive to print vivid, Melville Stone, who had founded the Chicago Daily News in 1875, served as AP General Manager from 1893 to 1921. He embraced the standards of accuracy, impartiality, and integrity, the cooperative grew rapidly under the leadership of Kent Cooper, who built up bureau staff in South America, Europe and, the Middle East. He introduced the telegraph typewriter or teletypewriter into newsrooms in 1914, in 1935, AP launched the Wirephoto network, which allowed transmission of news photographs over leased private telephone lines on the day they were taken. This gave AP a major advantage over other media outlets. While the first network was only between New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, eventually AP had its network across the whole United States, in 1945, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Associated Press v. The decision facilitated the growth of its main rival United Press International, AP entered the broadcast field in 1941 when it began distributing news to radio stations, it created its own radio network in 1974

Associated Press
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The AP headquarters in October 2008, located at 450 West 33rd Street, in New York City.
Associated Press
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Associated Press
Associated Press
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Logo on the former AP Building in New York City
Associated Press
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The APTN Building in London

69.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci

70.
Government of South Ossetia
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The Government of the Republic of South Ossetia is the political leadership of the only partially recognized, but de facto independent, Republic of South Ossetia. South Ossetias head of state is the president, the current president is Leonid Tibilov, the head of government is the prime minister, who is supported by a cabinet of ministers. The current prime minister is Domenty Kulumbegov, in August,2009, then-president Eduard Kokoity dismissed Aslanbek Bulatsevs cabinet. It was said that Bulatsev had long been sick and had sought to resign. All ministers kept their posts for some time and work with new PM Vadim Brovtsev, source, Per August 24,2009, several ministries were abolished. Government of Georgia Politics of South Ossetia Politics of Georgia President of the Republic of South Ossetia, official site Ministry of Press and Mass Communications of the Republic of South Ossetia

71.
South Ossetian presidential election, 2012
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A presidential election was held in South Ossetia on 25 March, with a runoff scheduled on 8 April 2012. This election would choose the first full president since the country gained partial international recognition, the date was set by the parliament after the 2011 election was annulled by the Supreme Court after Alla Dzhioyeva was disqualified following allegations of electoral violations by Anatoly Bibilov. A deal was reached on 9 December 2011 under which the incumbent Kokoity stepped down at the end of his mandate and was replaced by Prime Minister Vadim Brovtsev as acting president. Though Dzhioyeva was previously barred from running again, she was allowed to register in the re-run of the election. However, Kokoity and his supporters reneged on parts of the deal, no candidate participating in the 2011 election registered, including the previous leaders Dzihoyeva and Bibilov. There were four registered candidates, Leonid Haritonovich Tibilov, candidate in the 2006 election, david Georgievich Sanakoyev, human rights commissioner. Dmitriy Nikolayevich Medoyev, ambassador of South Ossetia to Russia and backed by Russia, stanislav Yakovlevich Kochiyev, chairman of the Communist Party of South Ossetia and speaker of the Parliament of South Ossetia. Dzhioyeva did not register to run in the election after she was in hospital with allegations of being beaten, Tibilov and Sanakoyev disagreed with former President Eduard Kokoity who said that South Ossetia would eventually be a part of Russia. Sanakoyev said, In November–December, it very clear that those supported by Kokoity did not win. A week before the election, a poll by the IR media centre suggested Medoyev or Tibilov would win. In addition to Russian observers the election said that it would call on the Council of Europe. First round turnout was over 65%, with expatriate voting still to be counted, without an absolute winner the election was set for a run off. The second round occurred on Easter with 84 voting centres opening at 8,00 for the 35,000 registered voters. The preliminary result with 95. 64% of the ballots counted, indicated Tibilov winning with 53. 74%, or 15,257, of the votes, with Sanakoyev getting 42. 98%, or 12,272, of the votes. After the first round, Tibilov said that todays figures show that my candidacy is taken normally, lets hope the second round confirms this. He also denied having Russian backing, but said that he would consult Russia in choosing his new government, Georgia – Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said that South Ossetia staged a farce. No one will recognise these elections, no matter who wins, Minister for Reintegration Eka Tkeshelashvili said of that the election that it was a continuation of farce and an imitation of elections in the Russian-occupied ethnically-cleansed region. Russia – After the first round, the Public Chambers Maxim Grigoryev said that there were not material breaches, united States – The embassy in Georgia said it does not recognise the election

South Ossetian presidential election, 2012
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Nominee

72.
South Ossetian parliamentary election, 2009
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A parliamentary election in South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia recognised as an independent state by Russia and Nicaragua, was held in June 2009. According to the results, the highest number of votes went to the ruling Unity Party. Two opposition parties were not permitted to run out of concern that they not be loyal to Eduard Kokoity. Under laws of Georgia, the elections were illegal, the European Union, the United States, and NATO have issued statements saying these organisations consider the elections illegal, and have rejected their results. The Republic of South Ossetia has a population of about 70,000 and it has had de facto independence from central Georgian rule since the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War. After the August 2008 South Ossetia war, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia, other countries, including Georgia, consider South Ossetia part of Georgias constitutional territory. Four parties were contesting for 34 seats in the Parliament of South Ossetia, according to the central election commission,45,000 people were registered to vote on Sunday. This was the first South Ossetian election since the republic obtained its limited international recognition in 2008, about 100 Russian and international reporters arrived in South Ossetia to cover the event. Voters were able to cast ballots at 95 polling stations,88 in South Ossetia and 7 in Russia, no other overseas polling stations were open. The election was conducted using the party-list proportional representation system with a 7% election threshold. For South Ossetian authorities to consider the valid, the voter turnout would have been at least 50% +1 vote. If these criteria hadnt been fulfilled, the South Ossetian legislation provided for an election in four months. According to Reuters, Unity, Communists, and the Peoples party support the current President Eduard Kokoity, two opposition parties were barred from running. As of 10,00 UTC,59. 88% of registered voters had cast their votes, the South Ossetian election commission has thus declared the elections valid. The official results were expected by June 7, international observers Group of 11 observers, representing Italy, Germany, Poland, and Russia noted the election was held complying with common democratic standards. Italian MEP Giulietto Chiesa commented, Europe The EU refused to either the legality of the election or its results. Georgia Georgia dismissed the election as illegitimate, on comments offered by the European Union and the United States, Nesterenko stated

73.
Ajaria
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Adjara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, is a historical, geographic and political-administrative region of Georgia. Located in the southwestern corner, Adjara lies on the coast of the Black Sea near the foot of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. It is an important tourism destination and includes Georgias second-largest city of Batumi as its capital, about 350,000 people live on its 2,880 km2. Adjara is home to the Adjarians, a subgroup of Georgians. Adjaras name can be spelled in a number of ways, including Ajara, Ajaria, Adjaria, Adzharia, under the Soviet Union, Adjara was part of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic as the Adjarian ASSR. Adjara has been part of Colchis and Caucasian Iberia since ancient times, colonized by Greeks in the 5th century BC, the region fell under Rome in the 2nd century BC. It became part of the region of Egrisi before being incorporated into the unified Georgian Kingdom in the 9th century AD, the Ottomans conquered the area in 1614. The people of Adjara converted to Islam in this period, the Ottomans were forced to cede Adjara to the expanding Russian Empire in 1878. After a temporary occupation by Turkish and British troops in 1918–1920, the Soviet Union established the Adjar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921 in accord with this clause. Thus, Adjara was still a component part of Georgia, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Adjara became part of a newly independent but politically divided Republic of Georgia. It avoided being dragged into the chaos and civil war that afflicted the rest of the country between 1991 and 1993 due largely to the rule of its leader Aslan Abashidze. The central government in Tbilisi had very little say in what went on in Adjara during the presidency of Eduard Shevardnadze, in the spring of 2004, a major crisis in Adjara erupted as the central government sought to reimpose its authority on the region. It threatened to develop into an armed confrontation, however, Saakashvilis ultimatums and mass protests against Abashidzes autocratic rule forced the Adjaran leader to resign in May 2004, following which he went into exile in Russia. After Abashidzes ousting, a new law was introduced to redefine the terms of Adjaras autonomy, levan Varshalomidze succeeded Abashidze as the chairman of the government. In July 2007, the seat of the Georgian Constitutional Court was moved from Tbilisi to Batumi, in November 2007 Russia ended its two century military presence in Georgia by withdrawing from the 12th Military Base in Batumi. Since mid-2000s Turkey has expanded its influence over Adjara, Turkish influence can be seen in the regions economy and in the religious life—through the regions Muslim population. The status of the Adjaran Autonomous Republic is defined by Georgias law on Adjara, the local legislative body is the Parliament. Zurab Pataridze is the current head of the Adjaran government, Adjara is subdivided into six administrative units, Adjara is located on the south-eastern coast of the Black Sea and extends into the wooded foothills and mountains of the Lesser Caucasus

74.
Strasbourg
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Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany in the region of Alsace. In 2014, the city proper had 276,170 inhabitants, Strasbourgs metropolitan area had a population of 773,347 in 2013, making it the ninth largest metro area in France and home to 13% of the Grand Est regions inhabitants. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of 915,000 inhabitants in 2014, Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, Strasbourgs historic city centre, the Grande Île, was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on 27 September 2012. Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, the port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany. Before the 5th century, the city was known as Argantorati, a Celtic Gaulish name Latinized first as Argentorate, after the 5h century, the city became known by a completely different name Gallicized as Strasbourg. That name is of Germanic origin and means Town of roads, Strasbourg is situated on the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by the River Rhine, which forms the eastern border of the modern city. The historic core of Strasbourg however lies on the Grande Île in the River Ill, which flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometres from. The natural courses of the two eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city. This section of the Rhine valley is an axis of north-south travel, with river traffic on the Rhine itself. The city is some 400 kilometres east of Paris, in spite of its position far inland, Strasbourgs climate is classified as Oceanic, with warm, relatively sunny summers and cold, overcast winters. Precipitation is elevated from mid-spring to the end of summer, but remains largely constant throughout the year, on average, snow falls 30 days per year. The highest temperature recorded was 38.5 °C in August 2003. The lowest temperature recorded was −23.4 °C in December 1938. Nonetheless, the disappearance of heavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city have reduced air pollution

Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg

75.
Vienna
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Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austrias primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million, and its cultural, economic and it is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin, Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region, along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be The City of Dreams because it was home to the worlds first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The citys roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city and it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the worlds most liveable cities, between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. Monocles 2015 Quality of Life Survey ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world to make a base within, the UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the worlds number-one destination for international congresses and it attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the name or the French Vienne. The etymology of the name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning forest stream, which produced the Old High German Uuenia. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Slovak names of the city, the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different, probably Slavonic origin, and originally referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, evidence has been found of continuous habitation since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north

Vienna
Vienna
Vienna
Vienna

76.
Moscow
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Moscow is the capital and most populous city of Russia, with 13.2 million residents within the city limits and 17.8 million within the urban area. Moscow has the status of a Russian federal city, Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth and it is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe, the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe, and the Moscow International Business Center. Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia, the city is well known for its architecture, particularly its historic buildings such as Saint Basils Cathedral with its brightly colored domes. Moscow is the seat of power of the Government of Russia, being the site of the Moscow Kremlin, the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square are also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament also sit in the city and it is recognized as one of the citys landmarks due to the rich architecture of its 200 stations. In old Russian the word also meant a church administrative district. The demonym for a Moscow resident is москвич for male or москвичка for female, the name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the Moskva River. There have been proposed several theories of the origin of the name of the river and its cognates include Russian, музга, muzga pool, puddle, Lithuanian, mazgoti and Latvian, mazgāt to wash, Sanskrit, majjati to drown, Latin, mergō to dip, immerse. There exist as well similar place names in Poland like Mozgawa, the original Old Russian form of the name is reconstructed as *Москы, *Mosky, hence it was one of a few Slavic ū-stem nouns. From the latter forms came the modern Russian name Москва, Moskva, in a similar manner the Latin name Moscovia has been formed, later it became a colloquial name for Russia used in Western Europe in the 16th–17th centuries. From it as well came English Muscovy, various other theories, having little or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists. The surface similarity of the name Russia with Rosh, an obscure biblical tribe or country, the oldest evidence of humans on the territory of Moscow dates from the Neolithic. Within the modern bounds of the city other late evidence was discovered, on the territory of the Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, Setun River and Kuntsevskiy forest park, etc. The earliest East Slavic tribes recorded as having expanded to the upper Volga in the 9th to 10th centuries are the Vyatichi and Krivichi, the Moskva River was incorporated as part of Rostov-Suzdal into the Kievan Rus in the 11th century. By AD1100, a settlement had appeared on the mouth of the Neglinnaya River. The first known reference to Moscow dates from 1147 as a place of Yuri Dolgoruky. At the time it was a town on the western border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality

77.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin

78.
Neopaganism
–
Although they do share similarities, contemporary Pagan religious movements are diverse and no single set of beliefs, practices, or texts are shared by them all. Not all members of faiths or beliefs regarded as Neopagan self-identify as Pagan, academic research has placed the Pagan movement along a spectrum, with Eclecticism on one end and Polytheistic Reconstructionism on the other. Polytheism, animism, and pantheism are common features in Pagan theology, rituals take place in both public and in private domestic settings. The Pagan relationship with Christianity is often strained, contemporary Paganism has sometimes been associated with the New Age movement, with scholars highlighting both similarities and differences. From the 1990s onward, scholars studying the modern Pagan movement have established the field of Pagan studies. There is considerable disagreement as to the definition and proper usage of the term modern Paganism. Even within the field of Pagan studies, there is no consensus regarding how contemporary Paganism can best be defined. Most scholars describe modern Paganism as an array of different religions rather than a singular religion in itself. Thus, he expressed the view that although a diverse phenomenon. However, while viewing different forms of Paganism as distinct religions in their own right, the various Pagan religions have been academically classified as new religious movements, with the anthropologist Kathryn Rountree describing Paganism as a whole as a new religious phenomenon. A number of academics, particularly in North America, have considered modern Paganism to be a form of nature religion. Some practitioners eschew the term Pagan altogether, choosing not to themselves as such. This is because the term Pagan has its origins in Christian terminology, alternately, many practitioners within these regions view Native Faith as a category that exists within modern Paganism but which does not encompass all Pagan religions. Other terms sometimes favored by Pagans are traditional religion, indigenous religion, nativist religion, Further, they have suggested that all of these could be defined under the banner of paganism or Paganism. This approach has received critically by many specialists in religious studies. Many scholars have favored the use of Neopaganism to describe this phenomenon, with the prefix neo- serving to distinguish the modern religions from their ancient. Some Pagan practitioners also prefer Neopaganism, believing that the prefix conveys the nature of the religion, including for instance its rejection of superstition. Accordingly, to avoid causing offense many scholars in the English-speaking world have begun using the modern or contemporary rather than neo

Neopaganism
–
Heathen altar for Haustblot in Björkö, Sweden. The larger wooden idol represents the god Frey
Neopaganism
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A Slavic Rodnover ritual in modern Russia, c.2000
Neopaganism
–
A Heathen shrine to the god Freyr, Sweden, 2010
Neopaganism
–
The Parthenon, an ancient pre-Christian temple in Athens dedicated to the goddess Athena. Strmiska believed that modern Pagans in part reappropriate the term "pagan" to honor the cultural achievements of Europe's pre-Christian societies

79.
Russians
–
Russians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. The majority of Russians inhabit the state of Russia, while notable minorities exist in Ukraine, Kazakhstan. A large Russian diaspora exists all over the world, with numbers in the United States, Germany, Israel. Russians are the most numerous group in Europe. They are predominantly Orthodox Christians by religion, the Russian language is official in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and also spoken as a secondary language in many former Soviet states. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians. One is русские, which most often means ethnic Russians, another is россияне, which means citizens of Russia. The former word refers to ethnic Russians, regardless of what country they live in, under certain circumstances this term may or may not extend to denote members of other Russian-speaking ethnic groups from Russia, or from the former Soviet Union. The latter word refers to all people holding citizenship of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity, translations into other languages often do not distinguish these two groups. The name of the Russians derives from the Rus people, the name Rus would then have the same origin as the Finnish and Estonian names for Sweden, Ruotsi and Rootsi. According to other theories the name Rus is derived from Proto-Slavic *roud-s-ь, the modern Russians formed from two groups of East Slavic tribes, Northern and Southern. The tribes involved included the Krivichs, Ilmen Slavs, Radimichs, Vyatiches, genetic studies show that modern Russians do not differ significantly from Belarusians and Ukrainians. Some ethnographers, like Zelenin, affirm that Russians are more similar to Belarusians, such Uralic peoples included the Merya and the Muromians. Outside archaeological remains, little is known about the predecessors to Russians in general prior to 859 AD when the Primary Chronicle starts its records and it is thought that by 600 AD, the Slavs had split linguistically into southern, western, and eastern branches. Later, both Belarusians and South Russians formed on this ethnic linguistic ground, the same Slavic ethnic population also settled the present-day Tver Oblast and the region of Beloozero. With the Uralic substratum, they formed the tribes of the Krivichs, in 2010, the worlds Russian population was 129 million people of which 86% were in Russia,11. 5% in the CIS and Baltic countries, with a further 2. 5% living in other countries. Roughly 111 million ethnic Russians live in Russia, 80% of whom live in the European part of Russia, ethnic Russians historically migrated throughout the area of former Russian Empire and Soviet Union, sometimes encouraged to re-settle in borderlands by the Tsarist and later Soviet government. On some occasions ethnic Russian communities, such as Lipovans who settled in the Danube delta or Doukhobors in Canada, after the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War starting in 1917, many Russians were forced to leave their homeland fleeing the Bolshevik regime, and millions became refugees

80.
Jews
–
The Jews, also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites, or Hebrews, of the Ancient Near East. Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, the Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as Hebrews. The worldwide Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million prior to World War II, but approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. Since then the population has risen again, and as of 2015 was estimated at 14.3 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank. According to the report, about 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and these numbers include all those who self-identified as Jews in a socio-demographic study or were identified as such by a respondent in the same household. The exact world Jewish population, however, is difficult to measure, Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. The modern State of Israel was established as a Jewish state and defines itself as such in its Declaration of Independence and its Law of Return grants the right of citizenship to any Jew who requests it. The English word Jew continues Middle English Gyw, Iewe, according to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe and kingdom derive from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The Hebrew word for Jew, יְהוּדִי‎ ISO 259-3 Yhudi, is pronounced, with the stress on the syllable, in Israeli Hebrew. The Ladino name is ג׳ודיו‎, Djudio, ג׳ודיוס‎, Djudios, Yiddish, ייִד‎ Yid, ייִדן‎, Yidn. The etymological equivalent is in use in languages, e. g. but derivations of the word Hebrew are also in use to describe a Jew, e. g. in Italian. The German word Jude is pronounced, the corresponding adjective jüdisch is the origin of the word Yiddish, in such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a factual reconstruction for the origin of the Jews is a difficult and complex endeavor. It requires examining at least 3,000 years of ancient human history using documents in vast quantities, as archaeological discovery relies upon researchers and scholars from diverse disciplines, the goal is to interpret all of the factual data, focusing on the most consistent theory. In this case, it is complicated by long standing politics and religious, Jacob and his family migrated to Ancient Egypt after being invited to live with Jacobs son Joseph by the Pharaoh himself. The patriarchs descendants were later enslaved until the Exodus led by Moses, traditionally dated to the 13th century BCE, Modern archaeology has largely discarded the historicity of the Patriarchs and of the Exodus story, with it being reframed as constituting the Israelites inspiring national myth narrative. The growth of Yahweh-centric belief, along with a number of practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group

81.
Poverty threshold
–
The poverty threshold, poverty limit or poverty line is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is higher in developed countries than in developing countries. In 2008, the World Bank came out with a figure of $1.25 at 2005 purchasing-power parity, the new IPL replaces the $1.25 per day figure, which used 2005 data. Most scholars agree that it better reflects todays reality, particularly new price levels in developing countries, the common international poverty line has in the past been roughly $1 a day. At present the percentage of the population living under extreme poverty is likely to fall below 10% according to the World Bank projections released in 2015. Determining the poverty line is usually done by finding the total cost of all the resources that an average human adult consumes in one year. Individual factors are used to account for various circumstances, such as whether one is a parent, elderly. The poverty threshold may be adjusted annually, charles Booth, a pioneering investigator of poverty in London at the turn of the 20th century, popularised the idea of a poverty line, a concept originally conceived by the London School Board. Booth set the line at 10 to 20 shillings per week, to secure the necessaries of a healthy life, which included fuel and light, rent, food, clothing, and household and personal items. Based on data from leading nutritionists of the period, he calculated the cheapest price for the minimum calorific intake and nutritional balance necessary and he considered this amount to set his poverty line and concluded that 27. 84% of the total population of York lived below this poverty line. Rowntree distinguished between primary poverty, those lacking in income and secondary poverty, those who had enough income, Absolute poverty is the level of poverty as defined in terms of the minimal requirements necessary to afford minimal standards of food, clothing, health care and shelter. For the measure to be absolute, the line must be the same in different countries, cultures, such an absolute measure should look only at the individuals power to consume and it should be independent of any changes in income distribution. Notice that if real income in an economy increases. Measuring poverty by a threshold has the advantage of applying the same standard across different locations and time periods. For example, a living in far northern Scandinavia requires a source of heat during colder months. The term absolute poverty is sometimes used as a synonym for extreme poverty. Absolute poverty is the absence of resources to secure basic life necessities. It depends not only on income but also on access to services, safe drinking water, Water must not come solely from rivers and ponds, and must be available nearby

Poverty threshold
–
Percentage of population living on less than $ 1.25 per day. UN estimates 2000–2007.

82.
History of South Ossetia
–
It has a population of 53,000 people which live in an area of 3,900 km2, south of the Russian Caucasus, with 30,000 living in its capital city of Tskhinvali. South Ossetia declared independence from the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, the Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetias autonomy and trying to re-establish its control over the region by force. The crisis escalation led to the 1991–92 South Ossetia War, Georgian fighting against those controlling South Ossetia occurred on two other occasions, in 2004 and 2008. The latter conflict led to the Russo–Georgian War, during which Ossetian and Russian forces gained full de facto control of the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. In the wake of the 2008 war, Russia, followed by Nicaragua, Venezuela, Georgia and a significant part of the international community consider South Ossetia to be occupied by the Russian military. South Ossetia relies heavily on military, political and financial aid from Russia, Russia does not allow European Union Monitoring Mission monitors to enter South Ossetia. South Ossetia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Abkhazia are sometimes referred to as post-Soviet frozen conflict zones, the Ossetians are believed to originate from the Alans, a Sarmatian Iranian tribe. In the 17th century, Ossetians started migration from the North Caucasus to Georgia, Ossetian peasants, who were migrating to the mountainous areas of the South Caucasus, often settled in the lands of Georgian feudal lords. The Georgian King of the Kingdom of Kartli permitted Ossetians to immigrate, in the 1770s there were more Ossetians living in Kartli than ever before. This period has been documented in the diaries of Johann Anton Güldenstädt who visited Georgia in 1772. The Baltic German explorer called modern North Ossetia simply Ossetia, while he wrote that Kartli was populated by Georgians, Güldenstädt also wrote that the northernmost border of Kartli is the Major Caucasus Ridge. The Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, part of which was the territory of modern South Ossetia, was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1801. Following the Russian revolution, the area of modern South Ossetia became part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, although the Ossetians were initially discontented with the economic policies of the central government, the tension soon transformed into ethnic conflict. The first Ossetian rebellion began in February 1918, when three Georgian princes were killed and their land was seized by the Ossetians, the central government of Tiflis retaliated by sending the National Guard to the area. However, the Georgian unit retreated after they had engaged the Ossetians, Ossetian rebels then proceeded to occupy the town of Tskhinvali and began attacking ethnic Georgian civilian population. During uprisings in 1919 and 1920, the Ossetians were covertly supported by Soviet Russia, but even so, were defeated. Between 3,000 and 7,000 Ossetians were killed during the crushing of the 1920 uprising, according to Ossetian sources ensuing hunger, the drawing of administrative boundaries of the South Ossetian AO was quite a complicated process. Many Georgian villages were included within the South Ossetian AO despite numerous protests by the Georgian population, while the city of Tskhinvali did not have a majority Ossetian population, it was made the capital of the South Ossetian AO

History of South Ossetia
–
Historical Russian map of the Caucasus region at the beginning of the 19th century
History of South Ossetia
–
Flag
History of South Ossetia
–
Fragment of the historical map by J. H. Colton. The map depicts Caucasus region in 1856. Modern South Ossetia is not labeled. Modern North Ossetia is labeled as "Ossia".
History of South Ossetia
–
Map of South Ossetia (November 2004).

83.
Languages of South Ossetia
–
It has a population of 53,000 people which live in an area of 3,900 km2, south of the Russian Caucasus, with 30,000 living in its capital city of Tskhinvali. South Ossetia declared independence from the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, the Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetias autonomy and trying to re-establish its control over the region by force. The crisis escalation led to the 1991–92 South Ossetia War, Georgian fighting against those controlling South Ossetia occurred on two other occasions, in 2004 and 2008. The latter conflict led to the Russo–Georgian War, during which Ossetian and Russian forces gained full de facto control of the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. In the wake of the 2008 war, Russia, followed by Nicaragua, Venezuela, Georgia and a significant part of the international community consider South Ossetia to be occupied by the Russian military. South Ossetia relies heavily on military, political and financial aid from Russia, Russia does not allow European Union Monitoring Mission monitors to enter South Ossetia. South Ossetia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Abkhazia are sometimes referred to as post-Soviet frozen conflict zones, the Ossetians are believed to originate from the Alans, a Sarmatian Iranian tribe. In the 17th century, Ossetians started migration from the North Caucasus to Georgia, Ossetian peasants, who were migrating to the mountainous areas of the South Caucasus, often settled in the lands of Georgian feudal lords. The Georgian King of the Kingdom of Kartli permitted Ossetians to immigrate, in the 1770s there were more Ossetians living in Kartli than ever before. This period has been documented in the diaries of Johann Anton Güldenstädt who visited Georgia in 1772. The Baltic German explorer called modern North Ossetia simply Ossetia, while he wrote that Kartli was populated by Georgians, Güldenstädt also wrote that the northernmost border of Kartli is the Major Caucasus Ridge. The Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, part of which was the territory of modern South Ossetia, was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1801. Following the Russian revolution, the area of modern South Ossetia became part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, although the Ossetians were initially discontented with the economic policies of the central government, the tension soon transformed into ethnic conflict. The first Ossetian rebellion began in February 1918, when three Georgian princes were killed and their land was seized by the Ossetians, the central government of Tiflis retaliated by sending the National Guard to the area. However, the Georgian unit retreated after they had engaged the Ossetians, Ossetian rebels then proceeded to occupy the town of Tskhinvali and began attacking ethnic Georgian civilian population. During uprisings in 1919 and 1920, the Ossetians were covertly supported by Soviet Russia, but even so, were defeated. Between 3,000 and 7,000 Ossetians were killed during the crushing of the 1920 uprising, according to Ossetian sources ensuing hunger, the drawing of administrative boundaries of the South Ossetian AO was quite a complicated process. Many Georgian villages were included within the South Ossetian AO despite numerous protests by the Georgian population, while the city of Tskhinvali did not have a majority Ossetian population, it was made the capital of the South Ossetian AO

Languages of South Ossetia
–
Historical Russian map of the Caucasus region at the beginning of the 19th century
Languages of South Ossetia
–
Flag
Languages of South Ossetia
–
Fragment of the historical map by J. H. Colton. The map depicts Caucasus region in 1856. Modern South Ossetia is not labeled. Modern North Ossetia is labeled as "Ossia".
Languages of South Ossetia
–
Map of South Ossetia (November 2004).

84.
Vehicle registration plates of South Ossetia
–
The government of South Ossetia issues its own license plates for the vehicles registered on the territory it controls. The design of the plates is based on one of the Soviet standard for license plates, the standard format is four digits followed by Cyrillic letters ЮОР. This system provides just 9999 possible combinations, newer system uses format like in Russian license plates, One letter, three digits and two letters with South Ossetian country flag and country code RSO in it. Government vehicles uses three digits and three letter format, on the territory controlled by the government of Georgia the Georgian license plates were used. Media related to License plates of South Ossetia at Wikimedia Commons

85.
International Crisis Group
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It advocates policies directly with governments, multilateral organisations and other political actors as well as the media. The International Crisis Group was founded after a meeting in January 1993 between former US diplomat and then-President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Morton I. Abramowitz and then future World Bank Vice-President Mark Malloch Brown on a flight to Sarajevo, George Soros was involved in discussions early on and provided seed money. Disaster relief specialist Fred Cuny made significant contributions to relief in Bosnia. A January 1995 meeting in London brought many international figures together, in mid-1995 it was formally registered in the US as a tax-exempt non-profit organisation. From 1996 to 1999, Crisis Group had an budget of around $2m and around 20 full-time staff. Following the death of its first president, Nicholas Hinton, in January 1997 and his replacement by Alain Destexhe, Destexhe resigned in October 1999 and was replaced by Gareth Evans, with Martti Ahtisaari becoming Chairman both from the beginning of 2000. Louise Arbour became president in July 2009, succeeded in September 2014 by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the International Crisis Group gives advice to governments and intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations, European Union and World Bank on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict. Crisis Group raises funds from mainly western governments, charitable foundations, companies, in 2011/2012, 49% of its funding came from governments, 20% from philanthropic organisations, and 31% from individuals and private foundations. During 2012/2013 unrestricted income for operations was $18.3 million with total expenditure of $21. In the early stages of Crisis Groups history, funding was much less diverse, mainly from co-founder George Soros, Crisis Group has been criticised for serving the interests of its corporate and government funders. Crisis Groups international headquarters have been in Brussels, with offices in Washington DC. Crisis Group has had offices in 30 locations, with teams of analysts dispatched to areas at risk of outbreak, escalation. Based on the information these teams have been gathering, Crisis Group has created analytical reports with recommendations for world leaders, all reports and conflict alerts, are publicly available. The monthly CrisisWatch bulletin is online since 2003, Crisis Groups website also stated that of 116 Crisis Group positions on 1 February 2014,63 were based in the field in 26 locations. Crisis Group Board of Trustees has been co-chaired by Mark Malloch Brown and Ghassan Salamé, Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs, as of September 2014 Crisis Groups President and Chief Executive was Jean-Marie Guéhenno, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. He was preceded by Louise Arbour, formerly the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and she was preceded from January 2000 to July 2009 by Gareth Evans, former Foreign Minister of Australia. The Vice Chair of the Board is Ayo Obe, lawyer, columnist, as of January 2014 the Board consisted of the following other trustees, Crisis Groups In Pursuit of Peace Award was established in 2005, and is associated with a gala event in New York City

International Crisis Group
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International Crisis Group

86.
Time Magazine
–
Time is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It was founded in 1923 and for decades was dominated by Henry Luce, a European edition is published in London and also covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong, the South Pacific edition, which covers Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, is based in Sydney, Australia. In December 2008, Time discontinued publishing a Canadian advertiser edition, Time has the worlds largest circulation for a weekly news magazine, and has a readership of 26 million,20 million of which are based in the United States. As of 2012, it had a circulation of 3.3 million making it the eleventh most circulated magazine in the United States reception room circuit, as of 2015, its circulation was 3,036,602. Richard Stengel was the editor from May 2006 to October 2013. Nancy Gibbs has been the editor since October 2013. Time magazine was created in 1923 by Briton Hadden and Henry Luce, the two had previously worked together as chairman and managing editor respectively of the Yale Daily News. They first called the proposed magazine Facts and they wanted to emphasize brevity, so that a busy man could read it in an hour. They changed the name to Time and used the slogan Take Time–Its Brief and it set out to tell the news through people, and for many decades the magazines cover depicted a single person. More recently, Time has incorporated People of the Year issues which grew in popularity over the years, notable mentions of them were Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, Matej Turk, etc. The first issue of Time was published on March 3,1923, featuring Joseph G. Cannon, the retired Speaker of the House of Representatives, on its cover, a facsimile reprint of Issue No. 1, including all of the articles and advertisements contained in the original, was included with copies of the February 28,1938 issue as a commemoration of the magazines 15th anniversary. The cover price was 15¢ On Haddens death in 1929, Luce became the dominant man at Time, the Intimate History of a Publishing Enterprise 1923–1941. In 1929, Roy Larsen was also named a Time Inc. director, J. P. Morgan retained a certain control through two directorates and a share of stocks, both over Time and Fortune. Other shareholders were Brown Brothers W. A. Harriman & Co. the Intimate History of a Changing Enterprise 1957–1983. According to the September 10,1979 issue of The New York Times, after Time magazine began publishing its weekly issues in March 1923, Roy Larsen was able to increase its circulation by utilizing U. S. radio and movie theaters around the world. It often promoted both Time magazine and U. S. political and corporate interests, Larsen next arranged for a 30-minute radio program, The March of Time, to be broadcast over CBS, beginning on March 6,1931

Time Magazine
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The first issue of Time (March 3, 1923), featuring SpeakerJoseph G. Cannon.
Time Magazine
–
Time
Time Magazine
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Bibi Aisha on the Cover of Time.
Time Magazine
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Time Magazine red X covers: from left to right, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and Osama bin Laden.

87.
Financial Times
–
The Financial Times is an English-language international daily newspaper with a special emphasis on business and economic news. The paper, published and owned by Nikkei Inc. in Tokyo, was founded in 1888 by James Sheridan and Horatio Bottomley, and merged in 1945 with its closest rival, the Financial Times has an average daily readership of 2.2 million people worldwide. FT. com has 4.5 million registered users and over 285,000 digital subscribers, FT Chinese has more than 1.7 million registered users. The world editions of the Financial Times newspaper had an average daily circulation of 234,193 copies in January 2014. In February 2014 the combined sale of the editions of the Financial Times was 224,000 copies. In October 2013 the combined print and digital circulation of the Financial Times reached nearly 629,000 copies. In December 2016 print sales for the paper stood at 193,211, on 23 July 2015 Nikkei Inc. agreed to buy the Financial Times from Pearson for £844m. On 30 November 2015 Nikkei completed the acquisition, the FT was launched as the London Financial Guide on 10 January 1888, renaming itself the Financial Times on 13 February the same year. Describing itself as the friend of The Honest Financier, the Bona Fide Investor, the Respectable Broker, the Genuine Director, the readership was the financial community of the City of London, its only rival being the slightly older and more daring Financial News. After 57 years of rivalry the Financial Times and the Financial News were merged in 1945 by Brendan Bracken to form a single six-page newspaper, the Financial Times brought a higher circulation while the Financial News provided much of the editorial talent. The Lex column was introduced from Financial News. Pearson bought the paper in 1957, over the years the paper grew in size, readership and breadth of coverage. It established correspondents in cities around the world, reflecting early moves in the economy towards globalisation. On 1 January 1979 the first FT was printed outside the UK, since then, with increased international coverage, the FT has become a global newspaper, printed in 22 locations with five international editions to serve the UK, continental Europe, the U. S. The European edition is distributed in continental Europe and Africa and it is printed Monday to Saturday at five centres across Europe reporting on matters concerning the European Union, the Euro and European corporate affairs. In 1994 FT launched a lifestyle magazine, How To Spend It. In 2009 it launched a website for the magazine. On 13 May 1995 the Financial Times group made its first foray into the world with the launch of FT. com

Financial Times
–
The front page of the Financial Times on 13 February 1888.
Financial Times
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The front page of the Financial Times on 29 December 2010
Financial Times
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The London offices of the Financial Times at One Southwark Bridge (2013).
Financial Times
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Editor Lionel Barber speaking at the newspaper's 125th anniversary party in London, 2013

88.
The Washington Post
–
The Washington Post is an American daily newspaper. It is the most widely circulated newspaper published in Washington, D. C. and was founded on December 6,1877 and its current slogan is Democracy Dies in Darkness. Located in the city of the United States, the newspaper has a particular emphasis on national politics. Daily editions are printed for the District of Columbia, Maryland, the newspaper is published as a broadsheet, with photographs printed both in color and in black and white. The newspaper has won 47 Pulitzer Prizes and this includes six separate Pulitzers awarded in 2008, the second-highest number ever awarded to a single newspaper in one year, second only to The New York Times seven awards in 2002. Post journalists have also received 18 Nieman Fellowships and 368 White House News Photographers Association awards, in years since, its investigations have led to increased review of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. In 2013, its owners, the Graham family, sold the newspaper to billionaire entrepreneur. The newspaper is owned by Nash Holdings LLC, a holding company Bezos created for the acquisition, the Washington Post is generally regarded as one of the leading daily American newspapers, along with The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The Post has distinguished itself through its reporting on the workings of the White House, Congress. It is one of the two daily broadsheets published in Washington D. C. the other being its smaller rival The Washington Times, unlike The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post does not print an edition for distribution away from the East Coast. In 2009, the newspaper ceased publication of its National Weekly Edition, the majority of its newsprint readership is in District of Columbia and its suburbs in Maryland and Northern Virginia. The Sunday Style section differs slightly from the weekday Style section, it is in a tabloid format, and it houses the reader-written humor contest The Style Invitational. Additional weekly sections appear on weekdays, Health & Science on Tuesday, Food on Wednesday, Local Living on Thursday, the latter two are in a tabloid format. In November 2009, it announced the closure of its U. S. regional bureaus—Chicago, Los Angeles and New York—as part of a focus on. political stories. The newspaper has bureaus in Maryland and Virginia. While its circulation has been slipping, it has one of the highest market-penetration rates of any metropolitan news daily, for many decades, the Post had its main office at 1150 15th Street NW. This real estate remained with Graham Holdings when the newspaper was sold to Jeff Bezos Nash Holdings in 2013, Graham Holdings sold 1150 15th Street for US$159 million in November 2013. The Washington Post continued to lease space at 1150 L Street NW, in May 2014, The Washington Post leased the west tower of One Franklin Square, a high-rise building at 1301 K Street NW in Washington, D. C

The Washington Post
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Front page for May 21, 2015
The Washington Post
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The headquarters of The Washington Post in Washington, DC.
The Washington Post
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Washington Post building in 1948
The Washington Post
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The Monday, July 21, 1969, edition, with the headline "'The Eagle Has Landed' — Two Men Walk on the Moon"

89.
The New York Times
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The New York Times is an American daily newspaper, founded and continuously published in New York City since September 18,1851, by The New York Times Company. The New York Times has won 119 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper, the papers print version in 2013 had the second-largest circulation, behind The Wall Street Journal, and the largest circulation among the metropolitan newspapers in the US. The New York Times is ranked 18th in the world by circulation, following industry trends, its weekday circulation had fallen in 2009 to fewer than one million. Nicknamed The Gray Lady, The New York Times has long been regarded within the industry as a newspaper of record. The New York Times international version, formerly the International Herald Tribune, is now called the New York Times International Edition, the papers motto, All the News Thats Fit to Print, appears in the upper left-hand corner of the front page. On Sunday, The New York Times is supplemented by the Sunday Review, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine and T, some other early investors of the company were Edwin B. Morgan and Edward B. We do not believe that everything in Society is either right or exactly wrong, —what is good we desire to preserve and improve, —what is evil, to exterminate. In 1852, the started a western division, The Times of California that arrived whenever a mail boat got to California. However, when local California newspapers came into prominence, the effort failed, the newspaper shortened its name to The New-York Times in 1857. It dropped the hyphen in the city name in the 1890s, One of the earliest public controversies it was involved with was the Mortara Affair, the subject of twenty editorials it published alone. At Newspaper Row, across from City Hall, Henry Raymond, owner and editor of The New York Times, averted the rioters with Gatling guns, in 1869, Raymond died, and George Jones took over as publisher. Tweed offered The New York Times five million dollars to not publish the story, in the 1880s, The New York Times transitioned gradually from editorially supporting Republican Party candidates to becoming more politically independent and analytical. In 1884, the paper supported Democrat Grover Cleveland in his first presidential campaign, while this move cost The New York Times readership among its more progressive and Republican readers, the paper eventually regained most of its lost ground within a few years. However, the newspaper was financially crippled by the Panic of 1893, the paper slowly acquired a reputation for even-handedness and accurate modern reporting, especially by the 1890s under the guidance of Ochs. Under Ochs guidance, continuing and expanding upon the Henry Raymond tradition, The New York Times achieved international scope, circulation, in 1910, the first air delivery of The New York Times to Philadelphia began. The New York Times first trans-Atlantic delivery by air to London occurred in 1919 by dirigible, airplane Edition was sent by plane to Chicago so it could be in the hands of Republican convention delegates by evening. In the 1940s, the extended its breadth and reach. The crossword began appearing regularly in 1942, and the section in 1946

The New York Times
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Cover of The New York Times (November 15, 2012), with the headline story reporting on Operation Pillar of Defense.
The New York Times
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First published issue of New-York Daily Times, on September 18, 1851.
The New York Times
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The Times Square Building, The New York Times ‍ '​ publishing headquarters, 1913–2007
The New York Times
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The New York Times newsroom, 1942

90.
Reuters
–
Reuters /ˈrɔɪtərz/ is an international news agency headquartered in London, England. It is a division of Thomson Reuters, until 2008, the Reuters news agency formed part of an independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data. Since the acquisition of Reuters Group by the Thomson Corporation in 2008, Reuters transmits news in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Urdu, and Chinese. The Reuter agency was established in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter in Britain at the London Royal Exchange, Paul Reuter worked at a book-publishing firm in Berlin and was involved in distributing radical pamphlets at the beginning of the Revolutions in 1848. Upon moving to England, he founded Reuters Telegram Company in 1851, headquartered in London, the company initially covered commercial news, serving banks, brokerage houses, and business firms. The first newspaper client to subscribe was the London Morning Advertiser in 1858, Reuters agency built a reputation in Europe and the rest of the world as the first to report news scoops from abroad. Reuters was the first to report Abraham Lincolns assassination in Europe, for instance, in 1872, Reuters expanded into the far east, followed by South America in 1874. Both expansions were made possible by advances in overland telegraphs and undersea cables, in 1883, Reuters began transmitting messages electrically to London newspapers. In 1923, Reuters began using radio to transmit news internationally, in 1925, The Press Association of Great Britain acquired a majority interest in Reuters, and full owners some years later. During the world wars, The Guardian reported that Reuters came under pressure from the British government to national interests. In 1941 Reuters deflected the pressure by restructuring itself as a private company, the new owners formed the Reuters Trust. In 1941, the PA sold half of Reuters to the Newspaper Proprieters Association, the Reuters Trust Principles were put in place to maintain the companys independence. At that point, Reuters had become one of the major news agencies. In 1961, Reuters scooped news of the erection of the Berlin Wall, in 1981, Reuters began making electronic transactions on its computer network, and afterwards developed a number of electronic brokerage and trading services. Reuters was floated as a company in 1984, when Reuters Trust was listed on the stock exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange. Reuters published the first story of the Berlin Wall being breached in 1989, share price grew during the dotcom boom, then fell after the banking troubles in 2001. In 2002, Brittanica wrote that most news throughout the world came from three major agencies, the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse, Reuters merged with Thomson Corporation in Canada in 2008, forming Thomson Reuters. In 2009, Thomson Reuters withdrew from the LSE and the NASDAQ, instead listing its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the last surviving member of the Reuters family founders, Marguerite, Baroness de Reuter, died at age 96 on 25 January 2009

Reuters
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Reuters Building, Canary Wharf, London
Reuters
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Reuters building entrance in New York City

91.
Forbes
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Forbes is an American business magazine. Published bi-weekly, it features articles on finance, industry, investing. Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics and its headquarters is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. Primary competitors in the business magazine category include Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek. The magazine is known for its lists and rankings, including its lists of the richest Americans. Another well-known list by the magazine is The Worlds Billionaires list, the motto of Forbes magazine is The Capitalist Tool. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes, and its CEO is Mike Perlis, Forbes, a financial columnist for the Hearst papers, and his partner Walter Drey, the general manager of the Magazine of Wall Street, founded Forbes magazine on September 15,1917. Forbes provided the money and the name and Drey provided the publishing expertise, the original name of the magazine was Forbes, Devoted to Doers and Doings. Drey became vice-president of the B. C. Forbes Publishing Company, while B. C. Forbes became editor-in-chief, B. C. Forbes was assisted in his later years by his two eldest sons, Bruce Charles Forbes and Malcolm Stevenson Forbes. Bruce Forbes took over on his fathers death, and his strengths lay in streamlining operations, during his tenure, 1954–1964, the magazines circulation nearly doubled. On Malcolms death, his eldest son Malcolm Stevenson Steve Forbes Jr. became President and Chief Executive of Forbes, between 1961 and 1999 the magazine was edited by James Michaels. In 1993, under Michaels, Forbes was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. com, a 2009 New York Times report said,40 percent of the enterprise was sold. For a reported $300 million, setting the value of the enterprise at $750 million, according to Mark M. Edmiston of AdMedia Partners, Its probably not worth half of that now. The companys headquarters moved to the Newport section of downtown Jersey City. In November 2013, Forbes Media, which publishes Forbes magazine, was put up for sale and this was encouraged by Elevation Partners, of whom were minority shareholders. Sales documents prepared by Deutsche Bank revealed that the publishers 2012 EBITDA was $15 million, Forbes reportedly sought a price of $400 million. In July 2014, Forbes sold a majority of itself to Integrated Whale Media Investments, Steve Forbes and his magazines writers offer investment advice on the weekly Fox TV show Forbes on Fox and on Forbes On Radio. Other company groups include Forbes Conference Group, Forbes Investment Advisory Group, from the 2009 Times report, Steve Forbes recently returned from opening up a Forbes magazine in India, bringing the number of foreign editions to 10

92.
CNN
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The Cable News Network is an American basic cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner. It was founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner as a 24-hour cable news channel, upon its launch, CNN was the first television channel to provide 24-hour news coverage, and was the first all-news television channel in the United States. While the news channel has numerous affiliates, CNN primarily broadcasts from the Time Warner Center in New York City and its headquarters at the CNN Center in Atlanta is only used for weekend programming. CNN is sometimes referred to as CNN/U. S. to distinguish the American channel from its sister network. As of August 2010, CNN is available in over 100 million U. S. households, broadcast coverage of the U. S. channel extends to over 890,000 American hotel rooms, as well as carriage on cable and satellite providers throughout Canada. Globally, CNN programming airs through CNN International, which can be seen by viewers in over 212 countries and territories, as of February 2015, CNN is available to about 96,289,000 cable, satellite, and telco television households in the United States. The Cable News Network was launched at 5,00 p. m. Eastern Time on June 1,1980, after an introduction by Ted Turner, the husband and wife team of David Walker and Lois Hart anchored the channels first newscast. Burt Reinhardt, the vice president of CNN at its launch, hired most of the channels first 200 employees, including the networks first news anchor. Since its debut, CNN has expanded its reach to a number of cable and satellite providers, several websites. The company has 36 bureaus, more than 900 affiliated local stations, the channels success made a bona-fide mogul of founder Ted Turner and set the stage for conglomerate Time Warners eventual acquisition of the Turner Broadcasting System in 1996. A companion channel, CNN2, was launched on January 1,1982, on January 28,1986, CNN carried the only live television coverage of the launch and subsequent break-up of Space Shuttle Challenger, which killed all seven crew members on board. On October 14,1987, Jessica McClure, an 18-month-old toddler, fell down a well in Midland, CNN quickly reported on the story, and the event helped make its name. This was before correspondents reported live from the capital while American bombs were falling. Before Saddam Hussein held a press conference with a few of the hundreds of Americans he was holding hostage. Before the nation watched, riveted but powerless, as Los Angeles was looted and burned, before O. J. Simpson took a slow ride in a white Bronco, and before everyone close to his case had an agent and a book contract. This was uncharted territory just a time ago. The moment when bombing began was announced on CNN by Bernard Shaw on January 16,1991, as follows, lets describe to our viewers what were seeing. The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated, were seeing bright flashes going off all over the sky

93.
The Times
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The Times is a British daily national newspaper based in London, England. It began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register, the Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, itself wholly owned by News Corp. The Times and The Sunday Times do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1967 and its news and its editorial comment have in general been carefully coordinated, and have at most times been handled with an earnest sense of responsibility. While the paper has admitted some trivia to its columns, its emphasis has been on important public affairs treated with an eye to the best interests of Britain. To guide this treatment, the editors have for long periods been in touch with 10 Downing Street. In these countries, the newspaper is often referred to as The London Times or The Times of London, although the newspaper is of national scope, in November 2006 The Times began printing headlines in a new font, Times Modern. The Times was printed in broadsheet format for 219 years, the Sunday Times remains a broadsheet. The Times had a daily circulation of 446,164 in December 2016, in the same period. An American edition of The Times has been published since 6 June 2006 and it has been heavily used by scholars and researchers because of its widespread availability in libraries and its detailed index. A complete historical file of the paper, up to 2010, is online from Gale Cengage Learning. The Times was founded by publisher John Walter on 1 January 1785 as The Daily Universal Register, Walter had lost his job by the end of 1784 after the insurance company where he was working went bankrupt because of the complaints of a Jamaican hurricane. Being unemployed, Walter decided to set a new business up and it was in that time when Henry Johnson invented the logography, a new typography that was faster and more precise. Walter bought the patent and to use it, he decided to open a printing house. The first publication of the newspaper The Daily Universal Register in Great Britain was 1 January 1785, unhappy because people always omitted the word Universal, Ellias changed the title after 940 editions on 1 January 1788 to The Times. In 1803, Walter handed ownership and editorship to his son of the same name, the Times used contributions from significant figures in the fields of politics, science, literature, and the arts to build its reputation. For much of its life, the profits of The Times were very large. Beginning in 1814, the paper was printed on the new steam-driven cylinder press developed by Friedrich Koenig, in 1815, The Times had a circulation of 5,000. Thomas Barnes was appointed editor in 1817

94.
The Daily Telegraph
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It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as The Daily Telegraph and Courier, the papers motto, Was, is, and will be, appears in the editorial pages and has featured in every edition of the newspaper since April 19,1858. The paper had a circulation of 460,054 in December 2016 and its sister paper, The Sunday Telegraph, which started in 1961, had a circulation of 359,287 as of December 2016. The Daily Telegraph has the largest circulation for a newspaper in the UK. The two sister newspapers are run separately, with different editorial staff, but there is cross-usage of stories, articles published in either may be published on the Telegraph Media Groups www. telegraph. co. uk website, under the title of The Telegraph. However, critics, including an editor, accuse it of being unduly influenced by advertisers. The Daily Telegraph and Courier was founded by Colonel Arthur B, Sleigh in June 1855 to air a personal grievance against the future commander-in-chief of the British Army, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. Joseph Moses Levy, the owner of The Sunday Times, agreed to print the newspaper, the paper cost 2d and was four pages long. Nevertheless, the first edition stressed the quality and independence of its articles and journalists, however, the paper was not a success, and Sleigh was unable to pay Levy the printing bill. Levy took over the newspaper, his aim being to produce a newspaper than his main competitors in London. The same principle should apply to all other events—to fashion, to new inventions, in 1876, Jules Verne published his novel Michael Strogoff, whose plot takes place during a fictional uprising and war in Siberia. In 1937, the newspaper absorbed The Morning Post, which espoused a conservative position. Originally William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, bought The Morning Post with the intention of publishing it alongside The Daily Telegraph, for some years the paper was retitled The Daily Telegraph and Morning Post before it reverted to just The Daily Telegraph. As an result, Gordon Lennox was monitored by MI5, in 1939, The Telegraph published Clare Hollingworths scoop that Germany was to invade Poland. In November 1940, with Fleet Street subjected to almost daily bombing raids by the Luftwaffe, The Telegraph started printing in Manchester at Kemsley House, Manchester quite often printed the entire run of The Telegraph when its Fleet Street offices were under threat. The name Kemsley House was changed to Thomson House in 1959, in 1986 printing of Northern editions of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph moved to Trafford Park and in 2008 to Newsprinters at Knowsley, Liverpool. During the Second World War, The Daily Telegraph covertly helped in the recruitment of code-breakers for Bletchley Park, the ability to solve The Telegraphs crossword in under 12 minutes was considered to be a recruitment test. The competition itself was won by F. H. W. Hawes of Dagenham who finished the crossword in less than eight minutes, both the Camrose and Burnham families remained involved in management until Conrad Black took control in 1986

The Daily Telegraph
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The Sunday Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
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The Daily Telegraph front page on 29 June 2015
The Daily Telegraph
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In 1882 The Daily Telegraph moved to new Fleet Street premises, which were pictured in the Illustrated London News.
The Daily Telegraph
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The Daily Telegraph building in 1974

95.
Agence France-Presse
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Agence France-Presse is an international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1944, AFP is the third largest news agency in the world, after the Associated Press, journalists of the French Resistance established the AFP in the headquarters of the former Office Français dInformation, a Vichy news agency, following the liberation of Paris. Currently, the CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and the News Director is Michèle Léridon, AFP has regional offices in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong, and Washington, D. C. and bureaux in 150 countries. AFP transmits news in French, English, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, the Agence Havas was founded in 1835 by a Parisian translator and advertising agent, Charles-Louis Havas as Agence Havas. Two of his employees, Paul Reuter and Bernhard Wolff, later set up rival news agencies in London and Berlin respectively and this arrangement lasted until the 1930s, when the invention of short-wave wireless improved and cut communications costs. To help Havas extend the scope of its reporting at a time of international tension. Established as an enterprise, AFP devoted the post-war years to developing its network of international correspondents. One of them was the first Western journalist to report the death of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin on March 6,1953, AFP was keen to shake off its semi-official status, and on January 10,1957 the French Parliament passed a law establishing its independence. Since that date, the proportion of the revenues generated by subscriptions from government departments has steadily declined. Such subscriptions represented 115 million Euros in 2011, in 1982, the agency began to decentralize its editorial decision-making by setting up the first of its five autonomous regional centres, in Hong Kong, then a British Crown colony. Each region has its own budget, administrative director and chief editor, in September 2007, the AFP Foundation was launched to promote higher standards of journalism worldwide. The Mitrokhin archive identified six agents and two confidential KGB contacts inside Agence France-Presse who were used in Soviet operations in France, in 1991, AFP set up a joint venture with Extel to create a financial news service, AFX News. It was sold in 2006 to Thomson Financial, in October 2008, the Government of France announced moves to change AFPs status, including the involvement of outside investors. On February 24,2010, Pierre Louette unexpectedly announced his intention to resign as CEO by the end of March, AFP is a government-chartered public corporation operating under a 1957 law, but is officially a commercial business independent of the French government. One is named by the minister, another by the minister of finance. The board elects the CEO for a term of three years. The AFP also has a council charged with ensuring that the agency operates according to its statutes, editorially, AFP is governed by a network of senior journalists. The primary client of AFP is the French government, which purchases subscriptions for its various services, in practice, those subscriptions are an indirect subsidy to AFP

96.
BBC
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The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. The total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, the BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBCs radio, TV, britains first live public broadcast from the Marconi factory in Chelmsford took place in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mails Lord Northcliffe and featured the famous Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba, the Melba broadcast caught the peoples imagination and marked a turning point in the British publics attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among the staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office, was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests, John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist, was appointed its General Manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved manufacturers, to this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to inform, educate and entertain. The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate, set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between the GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster-General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee and this was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee with no royalty once the wireless manufactures protection expired. The BBCs broadcasting monopoly was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, the BBC was also banned from presenting news bulletins before 19.00, and required to source all news from external wire services. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee, by now the BBC under Reiths leadership had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit the loss making consortium with Reith keen that the BBC be seen as a service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production and with restrictions on news bulletins waived the BBC suddenly became the source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position, the Government was divided on how to handle the BBC but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PMs own. Thus the BBC was granted sufficient leeway to pursue the Governments objectives largely in a manner of its own choosing, supporters of the strike nicknamed the BBC the BFC for British Falsehood Company. Reith personally announced the end of the strike which he marked by reciting from Blakes Jerusalem signifying that England had been saved, Reith argued that trust gained by authentic impartial news could then be used

97.
International Standard Serial Number
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An International Standard Serial Number is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title, ISSN are used in ordering, cataloging, interlibrary loans, and other practices in connection with serial literature. The ISSN system was first drafted as an International Organization for Standardization international standard in 1971, ISO subcommittee TC 46/SC9 is responsible for maintaining the standard. When a serial with the content is published in more than one media type. For example, many serials are published both in print and electronic media, the ISSN system refers to these types as print ISSN and electronic ISSN, respectively. The format of the ISSN is an eight digit code, divided by a hyphen into two four-digit numbers, as an integer number, it can be represented by the first seven digits. The last code digit, which may be 0-9 or an X, is a check digit. Formally, the form of the ISSN code can be expressed as follows, NNNN-NNNC where N is in the set, a digit character. The ISSN of the journal Hearing Research, for example, is 0378-5955, where the final 5 is the check digit, for calculations, an upper case X in the check digit position indicates a check digit of 10. To confirm the check digit, calculate the sum of all eight digits of the ISSN multiplied by its position in the number, the modulus 11 of the sum must be 0. There is an online ISSN checker that can validate an ISSN, ISSN codes are assigned by a network of ISSN National Centres, usually located at national libraries and coordinated by the ISSN International Centre based in Paris. The International Centre is an organization created in 1974 through an agreement between UNESCO and the French government. The International Centre maintains a database of all ISSNs assigned worldwide, at the end of 2016, the ISSN Register contained records for 1,943,572 items. ISSN and ISBN codes are similar in concept, where ISBNs are assigned to individual books, an ISBN might be assigned for particular issues of a serial, in addition to the ISSN code for the serial as a whole. An ISSN, unlike the ISBN code, is an identifier associated with a serial title. For this reason a new ISSN is assigned to a serial each time it undergoes a major title change, separate ISSNs are needed for serials in different media. Thus, the print and electronic versions of a serial need separate ISSNs. Also, a CD-ROM version and a web version of a serial require different ISSNs since two different media are involved, however, the same ISSN can be used for different file formats of the same online serial

International Standard Serial Number
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ISSN encoded in an EAN-13 barcode with sequence variant 0 and issue number 5

98.
Diauehi
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Diauehi or Diaokhi, Daiaeni was a coalition of tribes, or kingdoms, located in northeastern Anatolia, that was formed in the 12th century BC in the post-Hittite period. It is mentioned in the Urartian inscriptions and it is usually identified with Daiaeni of the Yonjalu inscription of the Assyria king Tiglath-Pileser I’s third year. Diauehi is a locus of proto-Kartvelian, it has been described as an important tribal formation of possible proto-Georgians by Ronald Grigor Suny. Most probably, the core of the Diauehi lands may have extended from the headwaters of the Euphrates into the valleys of Çoruh to Oltu. This federation was powerful enough to counter the Assyrian forays, although in 1112 BC its king and he was captured and later released on terms of vassalage. In 845 BC, Shalmaneser III finally subdued Diauehi and downgraded its king, Asia, king Asia of Diauehi was forced to submit to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III in 845 BC, after the latter had overrun Urartu and made a foray into Diauehi. In the early 8th century, Diauehi became the target of the newly emerged regional power of Urartu, both Menua and Argishti I campaigned against the Diauehi king, Utupurshi, annexing his southernmost possessions and forcing him to pay tribute, which included copper, silver and gold. Diauehi was finally destroyed by Colchian incursions by about the 760s BC, antonio Sagona, Claudia Sagona, Archaeology At The North-east Anatolian Frontier, I, An Historical Geography And A Field Survey of the Bayburt Province, Peeters, ISBN 90-429-1390-8 Georgia. Retrieved February 14,2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service Kavtaradze, an Attempt to Interpret Some Anatolian and Caucasian Ethnonyms of the Classical Sources, Sprache und Kultur, #3. The Bulletin of Ancient History, vol, Ancient kingdoms of Anatolia Prehistoric Georgia

99.
Kingdom of Iberia
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Iberia, centered on present-day Eastern Georgia, was bordered by Colchis in the west, Caucasian Albania in the east and Armenia in the south. Its population, known as the Iberians, formed the nucleus of the Georgians, Iberia, ruled by Pharnavazid, Arsacid and Chosroid royal dynasties, together with Colchis to its west, would form the nucleus of the unified medieval Kingdom of Georgia under Bagrationi dynasty. In the 4th century, after Christianization of Iberia by Saint Nino during the reign of King Mirian III Christiantity was made the religion of the kingdom. Starting in the early 6th century AD, the position as a Sassanian vassal state was changed into effectively direct Persian rule. In 580, king Hormizd IV abolished the monarchy after the death of King Bakur III, the term Caucasian Iberia is also being used to distinguish it from the Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe. The provenance of the name Iberia is unclear, the letter s in this instance served as a prefix for the root word Ver. Accordingly, in following Ivane Javakhishvilis theory, the designation of Sber, a variant of Sver, was derived from the word Hber. According to another theory, it is derived from a Colchian word, Imer, meaning country on the side of the mountain, that is of the Likhi Range. In earliest times, the area of Caucasian Iberia was inhabited by several related tribes stemming from the Kura-Araxes culture, collectively called Iberians in Greco-Roman ethnography. The Moschi, mentioned by various historians, and their possible descendants. The Moschi had moved slowly to the northeast forming settlements as they traveled, one of these was Mtskheta, the future capital of the Kingdom of Iberia. The Mtskheta tribe was ruled by a prince locally known as mamasakhlisi. The written sources for the periods of Iberias history are mostly medieval Georgian chronicles. Pharnavaz, victorious in a struggle, became the first king of Iberia. His successors managed to control over the mountainous passes of the Caucasus with the Daryal being the most important of them. The period following this time of prosperity was one of incessant warfare as Iberia was forced to defend against numerous invasions into its territories. Some southern parts of Iberia, that were conquered from Kingdom of Armenia, in the 2nd century BC were reunited to Armenia, nineteen years later, the Romans again marched on Iberia forcing King Pharnavaz II to join their campaign against Albania. While another Georgian kingdom of Colchis was administered as a Roman province, a stone inscription discovered at Mtskheta speaks of the 1st-century ruler Mihdrat I as the friend of the Caesars and the king of the Roman-loving Iberians

Kingdom of Iberia
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Map of Iberia and Colchis by Christoph Cellarius printed in Leipzig in 1706
Kingdom of Iberia
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Colchis and Iberia

100.
Roman Georgia
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Roman Georgia refers to the area of Georgia that was under Roman control. Between the 1st century BC and the 7th century AD Rome, at times, intermittently controlled directly or indirectly the kingdoms of Colchis. Romes conquests reached the Caucasus area at the end of the 2nd century BC, when the Roman Republic started to expand in Anatolia and the Black Sea. In the area of what is now western Georgia there was the Kingdom of Colchis that in those years had fallen under control of the Kingdom of Pontus, Iberia, on the other hand was invaded and became a vassal state of the empire. From this point on Colchis became the Roman province of Lazicum, with Emperor Nero later incorporating it into the Province of Pontus in 63 AD, despite the fact that all major fortresses along the seacoast were occupied by the Romans, their rule was pretty loose. In 69 AD, the people of Pontus and Colchis under Anicetus staged an uprising against the Romans which ended unsuccessfully. Christianity began to spread in the early 1st century, traditional accounts relate the event with Saint Andrew, Saint Simon the Zealot, and Saint Matata. While the Laz peoples kingdom of Colchis was administered as a Roman province, a stone inscription discovered at Mtskheta speaks of the 1st-century ruler Mihdrat I as the friend of the Caesars and the king of the Roman-loving Iberians. Emperor Vespasian fortified the ancient Mtskheta site of Arzami for the Iberian kings in 75 AD, in the 3rd century AD, the Lazi tribe came to dominate most of Colchis, establishing the kingdom of Lazica, locally known as Egrisi. Colchis was a scene of the rivalry between the Eastern Roman/Byzantine and Sassanid empires, culminating in the Lazic War from 542 to 562. This new South Western Caucasian state survived more than 250 years until 562 when it was absorbed by the Eastern Roman Empire, during Justinian I. Indeed, in 591 AD Byzantium and Persia agreed to divide Caucasian Iberia between them, with Tbilisi to be in Persian hands and Mtskheta to be under Roman/Byzantine control, at the beginning of the 7th century the temporary truce between the Romans and Persia collapsed again. The Iberian Prince Stephanoz I, decided in 607 AD to join forces with Persia in order to all the territories of Caucasian Iberia. Sebastopolis continued to remain the last Roman/Byzantine stronghold in western Georgia, one of the main legacies of Rome to Georgia is the Christian faith. The final conversion of all Georgia to Christianity in 327 is credited to St. Nina of Cappadocia. She was the daughter of pious and noble parents, the Roman general Zabulon, a relative of the great martyr St. George. Christianity was declared the state religion by King Mirian III of Iberia as early as 327 AD, which gave a stimulus to the development of literature, arts. Petra in Lazica is an ancient bishopric in Georgia that is included in the Catholic Churchs list of titular sees, Roman presence was huge in coastal Georgia, where some Roman Forts were defended for centuries by legionaries

Roman Georgia
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"Pompey's Bridge" was built in Georgia by the Roman legionaries of Pompey
Roman Georgia
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Pre-Roman Georgia: Colchis became part of the Roman province of Pontus.
Roman Georgia
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The remnants of the eastern gate in Archaeopolis
Roman Georgia
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Gonio (previously called "Apsaros"): remains of a Roman bath house in the fortress.

101.
Principality of Iberia
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Principality of Iberia was an early medieval aristocratic regime in a core Georgian region of Kartli, i. e. Iberia per classical authors. It flourished in the period of interregnum between the sixth and ninth centuries, when the political authority was exercised by a succession of princes. Its borders fluctuated greatly as the princes of Iberia confronted the Persians, Byzantines, Khazars, Arabs. When the king of a unified Iberia, Bakur III, died in 580, Iberia became a Persian province ruled by a marzpan. However, the direct Persian control brought about heavy taxation and a promotion of Zoroastrianism in a largely Christian country. Therefore, when the Eastern Roman emperor Maurice embarked upon a campaign against Persia in 582. Maurice did respond, and, in 588, sent his protégé, Guaram I of the Guaramids, however, Guaram was not crowned as king, but recognized as a presiding prince and bestowed with the Eastern Roman title of curopalates. The Byzantine-Sassanid treaty of 591 confirmed this new rearrangement, but left Iberia divided into Roman-, the presiding princes of Iberia, as the leading local political authority, were to be confirmed and sanctioned by the court of Constantinople. They are variously entitled in Georgian sources, eristavt-mtavari, eris-mtavari, eristavt-eristavi, most of them were additionally invested with various Roman/Byzantine titles. For example, eight out of the fourteen presiding princes held the dignity of curopalates, dispossessed of the principate of Iberia, the Chosroids retired to their appanage in Kakheti where they ruled as regional princes until the family became extinct by the early 9th century. The Guaramids returned to power and faced a difficult task of maneuvering between the Byzantines and Arabs, the Arabs, primarily concerned with maintaining control of the cities and trade routes, dispossessed them of Tbilisi where a Muslim emir was installed in the 730s. The Guaramids were briefly succeeded by the Nersianids between c.748 and 779/80, and had vanished once and for all by 786 and this year witnessed a bloody crackdown upon the rebellious Georgian nobles organized by Khuzayma ibn Khazim, an Arab viceroy of the Caucasus. The extinction of the Guaramids and near-extinction of the Chosroids allowed their cousins of the Bagratid family. Having accepted the Byzantine protection, the Bagratids, from their base in the region of Tao-Klarjeti,590 Stephen I, the Guaramid, c. 590–627 Adarnase I, the Chosroid, 627–637/642 Stephen II, the Chosroid,650 Adarnase II, the Chosroid, c. 650–684 Guaram II, the Guaramid, 684–c,693 Guaram III, the Guaramid, c. 748 Adarnase III, the Nersianid, c, toumanoff, Cyril, Studies in Christian Caucasian History

102.
Bagrationi dynasty
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The Bagrationi dynasty is a royal family that reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, this line is often referred to as the Georgian Bagratids. The common origin with the Armenian Bagratuni dynasty has been accepted by scholars, the family, in the person of Ashot I, the great-grandson of the presiding prince of Armenia Ashot III Bagratuni, gained the principate of Iberia at the end of the 8th century. His descendants restored, in 888, the Georgian monarchy and united various native polities into the Kingdom of Georgia, which prospered from the 11th to the 13th century. This period of time, particularly the reigns of David IV the Builder, the dynasty persisted within the Russian Empire as an Imperial Russian noble family until the 1917 February Revolution. The earliest Georgian forms of the name are Bagratoniani, Bagratuniani and Bagratovani. These names as well as the Armenian Bagratuni and the modern designation Bagratid mean the children of Bagrat or the house of/established by Bagrat. A successor, Guaram, was installed as a prince of Kartli under the Byzantine protectorate. Thus, according to version, began the dynasty of the Bagratids. This tradition enjoyed a general acceptance until the early 20th century, the Jewish origin, let alone the biblical descent, of the Bagratids has been discounted by modern scholarship. Adarnase’s son, Ashot I, acquired the principality of Kartli in 813, although certain, the generation-by-generation history of the Bagrationi dynasty begins only in the late 8th century. The Odzrkhe line, known in the annals as the Bivritianis. They cannot, however, be considered the ancestors of the later Bagratids who eventually restored Georgian royal authority. In 813, the new dynasty acquired, with Ashot I, despite the revitalization of the monarchy, Georgian lands remained divided among rival authorities, with Tbilisi remaining in Arab hands. The sons and grandsons of Ashot I established three separate branches – the lines of Kartli, Tao, and Klarjeti – frequently struggling with each other, the Kartli line prevailed, in 888, with Adarnase I, it restored the indigenous Georgian royal authority dormant since 580. In spite of repeated incidents of dynastic strife, the continued to prosper during the reigns of Demetrios I, George III. With the death of George III the main line became extinct. The invasions by the Khwarezmians in 1225 and the Mongols in 1236 terminated Georgia’s golden age, the struggle against the Mongol rule created a dyarchy, with an ambitious lateral branch of the Bagrationi dynasty holding sway over western Georgia

103.
Arab rule in Georgia
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This period is called Araboba in Georgian. The history of Arab rule in Georgia can be divided into 3 main periods,1, from the first appearance of Arab armies around 645 until the establishment of the Emirate of Tbilisi in 736. Those years saw the installation of political control over the Georgian lands by the Umayyad Caliphate. From 736 until 853, when the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad destroyed Tbilisi to quell a rebellion by the local emir, from 853 until the 2nd half of the 11th century, when the Great Seljuq Empire replaced the Arabs as the main force in the Middle East. Before that, the power of the emirate of Tbilisi had already declined in favor of independent Georgian states, Tbilisi remained however under Arab rule until 1122. In the first decades of the 7th century, most of present-day Georgia was under the authority of the Principate of Iberia. This state, like its predecessors, continually played the two powers of the time, the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires, to guarantee its own survival as an independent state. From the next decade however, the Muslim conquests of the Middle East started, the first Arab incursions in present-day Georgia happened approximately between 642 and 645, during the Conquest of Persia. It soon turned into an invasion, and Tbilisi was taken in 645. The presiding prince Stephen II had to recognize the suzerainty of the Rashidun Caliph, the Caliphate was then still in its first decades, very unstable politically, and had not yet developed a system of administration able to keep their numerous conquests under control. The main manifestation of Arab power over a region was at the time a religious command of Islam. The most significant of those uprisings, which engulfed the whole Caucasus region, happened in 681–682, despite a two-year-long struggle, the revolt was quelled, Adarnase was killed, and the Arabs installed in his place Guaram II of the rival Guaramid Dynasty. In their efforts to assert their rule over Iberia, the Arabs also had to contend with two major powers in the region, the Byzantine Empire and the Khazars. The latter, a confederation of semi-nomadic Turkic peoples, ruled over the north of the Greater Caucasus range. They had played a role in Caucasian history since the beginning of the 7th century, later, they successfully halted the Muslim armies in a series of wars, but also helped them suppressing the Georgian revolt of 682. Around 685, the Emperor Justinian II concluded a truce with the Caliph, in which they agreed on joint possession of Iberia and Armenia. However, the Arab victory at the Battle of Sebastopolis in 692 upset the balance, and led to a new Arab conquest of Armenia, a new status quo, more favourable to the Arabs, was now in place. Around 730, two led to a change in Umayyad policy towards Georgia

Arab rule in Georgia
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This contemporary inscription at Ateni Sioni Church mentions the sack of Tbilisi and the downfall of Ishaq ibn Isma'il.
Arab rule in Georgia
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Georgia and the Caucasus after the establishment of the Emirate.

104.
Kingdom of Abkhazia
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Writing the kingdoms primary history was dominated by Georgian and Byzantine sources supported by modern epigraphic and archaeological records. This can be explained by the scarcity of primary sources on these issues. Most Abkhaz historians claim the kingdom was formed as a result of the consolidation of the early Abkhaz tribes that enabled them to extend their dominance over the neighboring areas. This is objected to on the side of the Georgian historians, Abkhazia, or Abasgia of classic sources, was a princedom under Byzantine authority. It had Anacopia as the capital, Abkhazia was ruled by a hereditary archon who effectively functioned as a Byzantine viceroy. The country was chiefly Christian and the city of Pityus was a seat of an archbishop directly subordinated to the Patriarch of Constantinople, another Abasgian episcopal see was that of Soteropolis. The Arabs, pursuing the retreating Georgian princes – brothers Mir of Egrisi, dysentery and floods, combined with a stubborn resistance offered by the archon Leon I and his Kartlian and Egrisian allies, made the invaders retreat. Leon I then married Mir’s daughter, and a successor, Leon II exploited this dynastic union to acquire Egrisi in the 770s, presumably considered as a successor state of Lazica, this new polity continued to be referred to as Egrisi in some contemporary Georgian and Armenian chronicles. The successful defense against the Arabs, and new territorial gains, towards circa 786, Leon won his full independence with the help of the Khazars, he assumed the title of King of the Abkhazians and transferred his capital to the western Georgian city of Kutatisi. According to Georgian annals, Leon subdivided his kingdom into eight duchies, Abkhazia proper, Tskhumi, Bedia, Guria, Racha and Takveri, Svaneti, Argveti, the most prosperous period of the Abkhazian kingdom was between 850 and 950. The increasingly expansionist tendencies of the led to the enlargement of its realm to the east. Beginning with George I, the Abkhazian kings controlled also Kartli, in about 908 King Constantine III had finally annexed a significant portion of Kartli, bringing his kingdom up to the neighborhood of Arab-controlled Tfilisi. Under his son, George II, the Abkhazian Kingdom reached a climax of power, for a brief period of time, Kakheti in eastern Georgia and Hereti in the Georgian-Albanian marches also recognized the Abkhazian suzerainty. As a temporary ally of the Byzantines, George II patronized the missionary activities of Nicholas Mystikos in Alania, george’s successors, however, were unable to retain the kingdom’s strength and integrity. During the reign of Leon III, Kakheti and Hereti emancipated themselves from the Abkhazian rule, a bitter civil war and feudal revolts which began under Demetrius III led the kingdom into complete anarchy under the unfortunate king Theodosius III the Blind. By that time the hegemony in Transcaucasia had finally passed to the Georgian Bagratids of Tao-Klarjeti, in 978, the Bagratid prince Bagrat, nephew of the sonless Theodosius, occupied the Abkhazian throne with the help of his adoptive father David III of Tao. In 1008, Bagrat succeeded on the death of his natural father Gurgen as the King of Kings of the Georgians, thus, these two kingdoms unified through dynastic succession, in practice laying the foundation for the unified Georgian monarchy, officially styled then as the Kingdom of Georgians. Only Abkhazia and the areas of Svanetia, Racha and Khevi-Khevsureti did not acknowledge Seljuk suzerainty

105.
Principality of Kakheti
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The Principality of Kakheti or the Principality of the Kakhs was a feudal political unit in the Eastern Georgia which was established in the second half of the 8th century. According to Vakhushti it was seceded from the Principality of Iberia in 787, after forming the Kingdom of Iberia the historical region of Kakheti had always been a part of united Georgian state before the repeal of the institute of king by the Sasanians. It has also been a part the Principality of Iberia after its formation in c.550, but in the second half of the 8th century, in some Arab sources Kartli and Tzanaria are already mentioned separately. There is an opinion that the first prince of the Tzanars chorbishop Grigol was from the Bagrationi dynasty, after him the Donauri family from the Gardabanian community are coming to power, but the representatives of the Arevmaneli clan are taking their place already in 881–1037 years. There is another saying that Padla I, the first Arevmaneli prince was a descendant of Grigol. Afterwards the last Arevmaneli monarch Kvirike III his sisterss son Gagiki is becoming the king and this dynasty ends with Aghsartan II after whom the Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti gets annexed by the United Kingdom of Georgia. The last ruler who was bearing the title of chorepiscope was David, the principate included the historical regions of Kakheti, Kukheti and Gardabani. According to the 11th-century Georgian chronicler Leonti Mroveli Kakheti was bounded by the Caucasus Mountains in the north, Aragvi and in the east by Hereti and its political center was the city of Cheleti. Kukheti was bounded by Aragvi river and Hereti and its center was Rustavi, mtkvari and Berduji rivers were bounding the regions of Gardabani. All those three provinces were bordering each other with their Georgian population so that their unification in one principality was absolutely natural, unification of the states of Kakheti and Hereti took place in the beginning of the 11th century. First Kakheti and Kukheti got united and the center became Ujarma but then when Gardabani was added to the union, the new capital was located on the upper part of river Iori and it was also much better protected. In the XI century when the Principality of Kakheti annexed the Kingdom of Hereti capital of the state got changed once again and it was caused by both on account of the economic advancement of this region rather than the mountainous region of Tianeti and because of its geographical location. This choice has been successful - the city is the center of the region so even today. Grigoli Vache Samuel Gabriel Padla I Kvirike I Padla II Kvirike II David Kvirike III the Great Gagiki Aghsartan I Kvirike IV Aghsartan II Lortkipanidze M, Mukhelishvili D, history of Georgia, Vol.2 - Georgia in the IV-XIII centuries

Principality of Kakheti
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Signagi is becoming an important cultural center in the region
Principality of Kakheti
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Kakheti კახეთი
Principality of Kakheti
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The Alazani River Plain, with the Caucasus Mountains in the background
Principality of Kakheti
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Gremi church in Kakheti.

106.
Hereti
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The Kingdom of Hereti was a kingdom in the medieval Caucasus on the Georgian-Albanian frontier. Nowadays it roughly corresponds to the corner of Georgias Kakheti region. The area was inhabited in earliest times by Hers, Sujs, Tchilbs, collectively called Hers, these tribes came under the rule of the Caucasian Albania. Hereti was populated by Caucasian Albanians, Dagestani, Armenians, Persians and Georgians and it had flourishing towns that traded with Persia and Armenia. With its decline, the area was incorporated into the Iberian kingdom forming one of its duchies in the 5th century. It was when the name Hereti first appeared in the Georgian sources, according to traditional accounts, the name of the province originated from the legendary patriarch Heroes, the son of Thargamos, who founded the city of Hereti at the Alazani River. As a reward for the contribution in struggle against the Arab occupants, after the death of the last Kartlian erismtavaris John and Juansher, the Heretian lords extended their fiefdoms and, in 787, established an independent principality with the capital in Shaki. The principality gained significant strength and prestige by 893 allowing Prince Hamam to be crowned the king, the allies occupied and divided the country but for a short time as Adarnase Patrikios soon reconquered what had been lost. A son and successor, Ishkhanik ruled together with his mother Dinar, sister of Grand Magister Gurgen IV, under them, Hereti was forced to recognize the supremacy of the stronger neighbour, Principality of Deilam, ruled by the Salarid dynasty. In 950, Ishkhanik took advantage of the power struggle in the Salarid State. It was during his reign, that the Heretians abandoned their Monophysite faith to convert to Georgian Orthodox Christianity, the next Heretian ruler, John added to his kingdom part of the former Albanian kingdom and the eastern Georgian mountainous area Tzanaria. After his death, a local dynasty seems to have ceased to exist, the area then was contested between his successor, David, and the Georgian king Bagrat III who sought to bring all Georgian lands into a single monarchy. The next Kakhetian ruler, already titled as the king, Kvirike III the Great finally absorbed Hereti into his “kingdom of Kakhs, when the Georgian king David the Builder brought the kingdom under his control in 1104, Hereti became a saeristavo within the Georgian realm. Georgian rule of Hereti was interrupted by Atabegs of Azerbaijan, Khwarezmid Empire, after the final disintegration of the unified Georgian monarchy in 1466, Hereti came under the Kakhetian crown. Afterwards the name of the province itself has disappeared from the historic records and public usage due to successively Karakoyunlu, Akkoyunlu, Safavid, Afsharid. Kingdom of the Rans and Kakhs

Hereti
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Kingdom of Hereti.

107.
Samtskhe-Saatabago
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The Principality of Meskheti or Principality of Samtskhe was a Georgian feudal principality existing between 1268 and 1628. Its territory consisted of modern Meskheti and the region of Tao-Klarjeti. Samtskhe-Saatabago was established after the expansion of the dukedom of Samtskhe, dukes of Samstkhe were always distinguished by their longing for higher autonomy from the king of Georgia. Samtskhe-Saatabago managed to remain a culturally developed part of Georgia as well as maintaining territorial integrity, Samtskhe-Saatabago, which was fully independent at a time, was again incorporated in the Georgian Kingdom by George V of Georgia, who claimed maternal descent from the House of Jaqeli. George V made Samtskhe-Saatabago an integral part of Georgia once again, at the end of the 14th century, Timurs forces invaded Samtskhe-Saatabago several times. After the weakening of Georgian monarchy, the rulers of Samtskhe turned to separatism once more, in 1500, Shah Ismail inveigled the atabeg of Samtskhe, king Constantine II and king Alexander II of Imereti to attack Ottoman possessions nearby Tabriz. As a precaution, Ismail had Aleksander send his son Demetre to the conquered region of Shirvan. Ismail promised Constantine, once Tabriz was captured, to cancel the tribute he still paid the Ak Koyunlu Turcomans, each Georgian ruler contributed 3,000 men to the existing Ismails own 7,000. By 1503 they enabled him to recapture Nakhchivan from the Ottomans, but Ismail broke his promise, and made Kartli and Kakheti his vassals

Samtskhe-Saatabago
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Georgian Kingdom after its dissolution. Meskheti is the southernmost Georgian state.

108.
Principality of Abkhazia
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The principality retained a degree of autonomy under the Ottoman, and then the Russian rule, but was eventually absorbed into the Russian Empire in 1864. Abkhazia, as a duchy within Georgia, was ruled by the clan of Shervashidze since the 12th century, the sources are very scarce about the Abkhazian history of that time. The Genoese established their trading factories along the Abkhazian coastline in the 14th century, as a result, Georgia split into three rival kingdoms and five principalities. The Abkhazian princes were the vassals of the Principality of Mingrelia under the dynasty of Dadiani, the vassalage was, however, largely nominal, and both Mingrelian and Abkhazian rulers not only successfully fought for their independence, but contested borders with each other and with Imereti. The independence of Abkhazia was largely symbolic as the region was left alone as the kings of Imereti had their hands full governing their designated area. In 1490, the split became official as Georgia was split by treaty into the three entities, the Kingdom of Kartli, Imereti, which Abkhazia was theoretically part of, and Kakheti. In the 1570s, the Ottoman navy occupied the fort of Tskhumi, throughout the 16th–18th centuries, the Abkhazian lords were involved in the incessant border conflicts with the Mingrelian princes. After the death of the Abkhazian prince Zegnak circa 1700, his principality was divided among his sons, the highlands of Tzabaldal were without any centralized government, but were dominated by the clan of Marshania. Sadzny, formerly known as Zygia extended north to Abkhazia proper between the cities of Gagra and Sochi, and was run by the Gechba clan. All these princedoms were more or less dependent on the princes of Abkhazia proper, Keilash Bey seems to have been the first presiding prince of Abkhazia to embrace Islam, and was given, on this account, the fort of Suhum-Kale. The first attempt to enter into relation with Russia was made by the said Keilash Bey in 1803, after the assassination of this prince by his son Aslan-Bey on May 2,1808, the pro-Ottoman orientation prevailed but for a short time. On July 2,1810, the Russian Marines stormed Suhum-Kale and had Aslan-Bey replaced with his brother, Sefer-Bey. Abkhazia joined the Russian empire as an autonomous principality, the next Russo-Turkish war strongly enhanced the Russian positions, leading to a further split in the Abkhaz elite, mainly along religious divisions. During the Crimean War, Russian forces had to evacuate Abkhazia, later on, the Russian presence strengthened and the highlanders of Western Caucasia were finally subjugated by Russia in 1864. Abkhazia was incorporated in the Russian Empire as a military province of Suhum-Kale which was transformed, in 1883. In July 1866 an attempt made by the Russian authorities to collect information concerning the conditions of the Abkhaz, for the purpose of taxation. The rebels proclaimed Michael Shervashidzes son George as prince and marched on Suhum-Kale, only the strong Russian reinforcements led by General Dmitry Ivanovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky were able to suppress the revolt by the same August. As a result, many areas became virtually deserted and the population of Abkhazia was reduced threefold, Abkhazian Kingdom Caucasian War History of Georgia Russian Empire Gigineishvili, Levan

109.
Principality of Svaneti
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The Principality of Svaneti was a small principality in the Greater Caucasus mountains that emerged following the breakup of the Kingdom of Georgia in the late 15th century. It was ruled successively by the houses of Gelovani and Dadeshkeliani, a series of Ottoman invasions and civil wars in western Georgia resulted in a breakdown of communications and the mountainous regions became increasingly isolated. In Svaneti, a feudal system effectively collapsed and once flourishing regional Georgian Orthodox culture went in decline to the point of reversal to some pagan practices. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, Svaneti fragmented into three political entities, the second, Upper Svaneti, lay along the upper reaches of the Enguri river for whose control the families of Richgviani and Dadeshkeliani vied. The latter clan emerged as the winners by the 1720s and established their rule on the territory to the west of the Enguri. The communities to the east of the Enguri seceded, however, in the 1820s, the Principality of Svaneti effectively split into two as a result of a blood feud between the rival Dadeshkeliani branches. Through the mediation by the princes of Mingrelia, both branches accepted nominal Russian suzerainty in 1833 as did the Free Svanetian communities in 1840, nevertheless, they continued to run their affairs independently and did not allow Russian officials or church missions into the area until the late 1840s. Continuing dynastic strife among the Dadishkeliani, their defiance to the Russian government, in 1857, Prince Alexander Baryatinsky, Viceroy of the Caucasus, ordered Svaneti to be subdued by armed force. The ruling prince of Svaneti, Constantine, chose to negotiate, on a farewell audience in Kutaisi, he quarreled with a local Russian administrator, Alexander Gagarin, and stubbed to death him and three of his staff. When captured, Constantine was summarily tried by court martial and shot, in 1858, the principality was abolished and converted into a district administered by a Russian-appointed officer. Several members of the Dadeshekeliani family were exiled to the remote Russian provinces and those who remained in Georgia were deprived of their autonomous powers

Principality of Svaneti
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Coat of Arms of Svaneti.
Principality of Svaneti
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Constantine Dadeshkeliani, last Prince of Svaneti.

110.
Principality of Guria
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The Principality of Guria was a historical state in Georgia. The principality emerged during the process of fragmentation of a unified Kingdom of Georgia, in 1463, Bagrat and his allies met and defeated the king at the Battle of Chikhori. As a result, George VIII lost all the western provinces, from this time on, the Gurieli also invested local bishops at Shemokmedi, Jumati, and Khinotsminda, nominally under the spiritual superintendence of the Georgian Orthodox Catholicos of Abkhazia. The polities of western Georgia fought one another for supremacy, particularly the Gurieli of Guria and they forged a temporary alliance and organized, in January 1533, an ultimately disastrous expedition against the piratical tribe of Zygii in the north of Abkhazia. This setback enabled the king of Imereti to reassert his hegemony over Guria, the situation became even more precarious after the allied army of Georgian dynasts suffered a defeat at the Battle of Sokhoista. Mamia II Gurieli managed to reconquer Adjara in 1609, but was forced to renounce, on December 13,1614, any claims to the region. The incessant feudal wars in western Georgia resulted in the decline of Guria, yet, several princes of Guria, most notably Giorgi III Gurieli, and Mamia III Gurieli, managed to occasionally attain to the crown of Mingrelia and even of Imereti. The princely vassals of the Gurieli included the houses of Gugunava, Machutadze, Maksimenishvili, Nakashidze, Tavdgiridze, Shalikashvili, Zedginidze, during the early 18th century, Guria faced an increasing political and economic downfall due to the Ottoman encroachments as well as repeated occasions of civil strife. Attempts by the Gurian princes to enter into alliances with other Georgian rulers, by 1723, the Gurieli had lost Batumi and Chakvi to the Ottomans and the whole coastline of Guria had been garrisoned by the Turks. The Gurian support to the Russians during the Russo-Turkish War caused a reaction from the Ottoman government. Kobuleti and the area were detached from Guria and subjected to Islamization. The rest of Christian population had to move to regions of Georgia. This, combined with extensive slave trade and Turkish inroads, resulted in a depopulation of several areas of Guria towards the late 18th century. The population of Guria was estimated by Güldenstädt at 5,000, the latter-day princes of Guria firmly chose a pro-Russian orientation. During the Russo-Turkish War, on June 19,1810, Mamia V Gurieli accepted Russian suzerainty, Guria joined the empire as an autonomous principality, retaining its self-governance and a local code. Very desirous of adopting European customs and habits, Mamia initiated a series of reforms and modernized administration, economy, when Mamia died on October 26,1826, his underage son, David succeeded him on the throne under the regency of Princess Dowager Sophia. Anxious to secure her autonomy from the Russian government, she sided with the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War, on September 2,1829, the Russian authorities deposed David and forced Sophia into exile to Turkey. Guria was annexed to the Russian Empire, first under a provisional governance, and then, in 1840, as the Ozurgeti uyezd within the Kutais Governorate

Principality of Guria
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Flag

111.
April 9 tragedy
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The April 9 tragedy refers to the events in Tbilisi, Georgia, on April 9,1989, when an anti-Soviet demonstration was dispersed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 21 deaths and hundreds of injuries. April 9 is now remembered as the Day of National Unity, the anti-Soviet movement became more active in the Georgian SSR in 1988. Several strikes and meetings were organized by political organizations in Tbilisi. The protests reached their peak on April 4,1989, when tens of thousands of Georgians gathered before the House of Government on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi. The protesters, led by the Independence Committee organized a demonstration and hunger strikes, demanding the punishment of Abkhaz secessionists. Local Soviet authorities lost control over the situation in the capital and were unable to contain the protests, first Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party Jumber Patiashvili asked USSR leadership to send troops to restore order and impose curfew. In the evening of April 8,1989, Colonel General Igor Rodionov, Commander of the Transcaucasus Military District, the demonstrators refused to disband even after the Patriarchs plea. The local Georgian militsiya units were disarmed just before the operation, Soviet APCs and troops under General Igor Rodionov surrounded the demonstration area. Later, Rodionov claimed in his interview that groups of Georgian militants attacked unarmed soldiers with stones, metal chains, the Soviet troops received an order from General Rodionov to disband and clear the avenue of demonstrators by any means necessary. The Soviet detachment, armed with batons and spades, advanced on demonstrators moving along the Rustaveli Avenue. During the advance, the soldiers started to attack demonstrators with spades and she was dragged out of the area by her mother who was also attacked and wounded. This particularly violent attack was recorded on video from the balcony of a building located on the side of the avenue. The video was used in the aftermath as evidence during Sobchaks Parliamentary commission on investigation of events of April 9,1989, groups of Soviet soldiers were reported to chase individual victims, rather than dispersing the crowd. The stampede following the attack resulted in the death of 19 people, official Soviet reports blamed the demonstrators for causing the clash, saying that the troops were attacked with sticks and knives. According to Tass, the soldiers followed orders not to use their weapons, Tass described the demonstrators as stirring interethnic strife and calling for the overthrow of the Georgian government. President Gorbachev slammed actions by persons for loss of life. He said that the sought to overthrow the Georgian government. CN and CS gas were used against the demonstrators, vomiting, respiratory problems, on April 10, the Soviet government issued a statement blaming the demonstrators for causing unrest and danger to the safety of the public

April 9 tragedy
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Photos of the April 9, 1989 Massacre victims (mostly young women) on a billboard in Tbilisi.
April 9 tragedy
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Eastern Bloc

112.
Name of Georgia (country)
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Georgia /ˈdʒɔːrdʒə/ is an exonym for the eponymous nation in Eastern Europe. The term ‘’Georgia’’ has been used in the Western world since at least the Middle Ages, however, today the full, official name of the country is Georgia, as specified in the Georgian constitution which reads Georgia shall be the name of the State of Georgia. Before the 1995 constitution came into force the name was the Republic of Georgia. The Georgian government works actively to remove Russian-derived exonym Gruziya from usage around the world, Georgia is natively known as Sakartvelo. The native name derives from the core Georgian region of Kartli and it was alternatively known as Iberia in classical Greek and Roman sources. The native Georgian name for the country is Sakartvelo, the word consists of two parts. Its root, kartvel-i, originally referred to an inhabitant of the core central Georgian region of Kartli – Iberia of the Classical, by the early 9th century, the meaning of Kartli was expanded to other areas of medieval Georgia held together by religion, culture, and language. The Georgian circumfix sa-X-o is a standard geographic construction designating the area where X dwell, the earliest reference to Sakartvelo occurs in the c.800 Georgian chronicle by Juansher Juansheriani. However, it was not until the early 13th century that the term fully entered regular official usage, thus, the later kings did not relinquish the titles of the all-Georgian monarchs whose legitimate successors they claimed to be. In other Kartvelian languages, like Mingrelian, Georgia is referred as საქორთუო sakortuo, in Laz its ოქორთურა okortura and this same root is also adopted in Abkhaz and Georgia is referred as Қырҭтәыла Kyrţtwyla. According to the Constitution of Georgia, the nations official exonym is Georgia, a definitive origin of the European term Georgia has never been established, but there are a number of unconfirmed theories as to its provenance. Jacques de Vitry and Franz Ferdinand von Troilo have explained the origin by the popularity of St. George among Georgians. Another theory, popularized by the likes of Jean Chardin, semantically linked Georgia to Greek γεωργός and this might have been of the same etymology as the Armenian Virk and a source of the Greco-Roman rendition Iberi. e. The letter s in this instance served as a prefix for the root word Ver, accordingly, in following Ivane Javakhishvilis theory, the ethnic designation of Sber, a variant of Sver, was derived the word Hber and the Armenian variants, Veria and Viria. The Armenian name of Georgia is Վրաստան Vrastan, Վիրք Virk, ethnic Georgians are referred in Armenian as Վրացիներ literally meaning Iberians. The Russian exonym Gruziya is of Perso-Arabic origin, from Persian, the Russian name first occurs in the travel records of Ignatiy Smolnyanin as gurzi and Afanasy Nikitin as gurzynskaya zemlya. The Russian name was brought into several Slavic languages as well as other language historically in contact with the Russian Empire and it also entered the contemporary Hebrew as גרוזיה. It coexisted with the names גאורגיה and גורגיה, when Gruzia took over in the 1970s, in August 2005 the Georgian ambassador to Israel Lasha Zhvania asked that the Hebrew speakers refer to his country as Georgia גאורגיה and abandon the name Gruzia

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Timeline of Georgian history
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This is a timeline of Georgian history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Georgia and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Georgia, see also the List of Georgian Kings and Queens. Timeline of Tbilisi William Henry Overall, ed. Georgia, Asia, London, William Tegg – via Hathi Trust. Benjamin Vincent, Georgia, Haydns Dictionary of Dates, London, Ward, Lock & Co. – via Hathi Trust Georgia, eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia 2003